The Chronicles of the Dream Weaver: The Curse of the Prince
by ChaseStorm
Summary: Prusisa x Romano is the main pairing. When Prussia is thrown into a world on the verge of war what will he do? Will the swordsman lead his army to victory? Or will the world fal into chaos and become the new demon realm? other characters include Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Micronations, ect Prumano There will be a sequel.
1. Intro

**Disclaimer: I do not own hetalia or its characters. I do, however own the plot of this story. (I am not going to write this on every single chapter. I own the whole plot. Not hetalia. That goes for the whole story.)**

The Dream Weaver lived a life full of wonder. Any dream he had would become reality. It could be the most impossible thing, and it would happen. For he could travel time and space. His reach was far and wide. He lived out his dreams and out ran his nightmares.

If someone could think it then he could live it. He had seen dragons, mermaids, the future and the past. Gilbert had seen everything. But being a Dream Weaver was not always fun and games.

In his years of living he had made many friends. He had seen many deaths happen right before his very eyes. It was something that he had become very used to, but made him cry nonetheless.

But even harder than watching the people he came to care for die was living in the real world. His own realm . . . and his own time line. Those nights of dreamless sleep for him meant he had to live his real life the next day.

His real life was surely nothing he really wanted to live. For with powers like his he had lived a very sheltered life. After being born his death was recorded the very first time he drifted off to another realm. He had been there for a very long time and his parents assumed he had been kidnapped and killed. But eventually they found him one day just lying in bed.

After that fateful day he vanished without a trace quite often. He would often spend long stretches of time without seeing his parents. As he left he grew older and older with each time. Soon his parents gave up trying to raise him properly. Instead they sheltered him and kept him away from the outside world. They made sure he was properly educated for he needed to be safe in other realms, but they gave up hope in ever seeing him live a normal life.

But Gilbert did not care for a normal life. That all seemed way too boring for him. He liked thrill and adventure. And being the Dream Weaver gave him just that . . . and plenty of stories to tell.


	2. Chapter 1

Gilbert opened his pink eyes to see stone walls surrounding him along with a stone ceiling. He sat up from the bed he lay upon to find he was in a small bedroom. It was plain in features for it only bore a bed, a small dark wood dresser and a bed side table. Upon opening the table drawer he found a bible. Looking down at himself he found himself sporting a red robe worn by that of a High Priest.

He sighed ever so slightly. For though he was still himself he was filled to the brims with memories of having lived in this realm forever. That was the way of a Dream Weavers life. Whenever he entered a realm all of the inhabitants living there would know the man as if he had lived there all his life. He in turn would know all of them. This was to help as to not cause any additional problems in the realm. He did not want to cause a ripple effect.

Getting up from the bed he stretched and put on the boots that were beside his bed. He walked out of the room and walked down the long stone corridor, greeting the other monks as he walked. But he knew that though he had a high rank and even fought as a warrior, he was not liked in this kingdom. The kingdom ran by his "brother" Ludwig.

He was supposed to hold high honor and follow the rules accordingly. But that just was not who he was. He liked excitement and everyone in this realm knew of that. So, he was going to meet up with his two friends at a bar when the sun in the sky began to set. But for now he had duties to fulfill.

Reaching the tall wooden doors to the temple's prayer room he walked down the scarlet carpentry until he reached the front of the room. He kneeled before the ivory alter and closed his eyes. It was his duty to ask for the Lunar Gods and Goddesses for a healthy and prosperous life for him and his kingdom.

But he did not really believe that things such as praying could really change things. It was not praying that made one healthy or successful. It was hard work and luck that granted such things. But hard work was only fun when it came down to battling. With a sword in his hand Gilbert always felt invincible, no matter what realm he was in. He had practically become an expert when it came to swordsmanship.

So, after he had done his morning prayers and set off in search of a nutritious breakfast he set his sights for the training grounds. The memories he had gathered had said that he was one to help others train to become knights and warriors. Nothing sounded better then teaching others the way of the sword. Well . . . nothing besides being on the frontline of a great battle.

Arriving at the fields he saw many young men willing and hoping to become great fighters. Some would find it easy, born with raw talent and remarkable strength. Others would find it to be a challenge that they would either accept and conquer or give up on before making a dent. The last of those few were not meant to be fighters. So, it is a good thing when they give up and go on to become something else.

Today he only had a few scouts to train. There was a very feminine male with long white hair braided into pigtails with dark violet eyes. His mind seemed to be anywhere but where they were.

Another boy a bit taller than the first wore a somewhat angry and spiteful expression. He had short red-orange hair and blue eyes. The boy had a scar going across his left cheek and nose. Gilbert had to wonder if it was from an accident or not.

The next boy had short blonde hair, bright blue eyes and crazy thick eyebrows. He wore a cocky expression that seemed to say "I am the best and no one can defeat me." He knew that expression all too well. He was the very same way as a child and he still acted that way now as a man in his twenties. He could expect to see great raw power from him.

The last boy seemed to be a bit ditzy. He was older than the other two who could only be about fourteen or so. This one had to be about eighteen at the very least. He had short brown hair and olive eyes. He only seemed to be focusing on the lady that was standing beside him.

She was the only female there. Approximately sixteen years of age if he was guessing correctly. It was not the first time a lady had come to be a warrior. Gilbert had a very nice friend in this world whom was a female warrior and she was almost as great as him. This girl had mid-length dirty blonde hair in a ponytail. She held a very serious expression. He knew right away that she would put in some very serious effort to become the best student there.

"Hello and good morning. My name is Sir Gilbert and I will be your new trainer in the beautiful art of swordsmanship. I am quite sure that with me as a teacher that you can become some other the greatest swordsmen . . . and woman of your age group. Now, before we begin I would like for everyone to introduce themselves," Gilbert said as he stood before his new students.

The blonde boy was the first to speak. "Hello Sir Gilbert. My name is Peter! Brother to the powerful sorcerer of this here realm! I aim to be the greatest warrior this world has and will ever see!" he exclaimed to those before him. Gilbert held back the urge to roll his eyes.

The red-head spoke up next. He looked angrier than he had before. "As if you will be the best you imbacile! I have beaten you in every fight for years." He sneered. His eyes went to look into Gilbert's pink ones. "My name is Erland. I come from a fairly rich noble family. They wish to marry me off to a princess, but I do not wish for that life any longer! I will become a great knight and seek out adventure."

The brown haired boy was the next to speak with a happy grin on his face. "Hello! My name is Marcello! I came here because Wendy wanted to be a mighty warrior!" he said happily. He slung an arm around said girl's shoulder. She only responded by rolling her eyes.

"I do plan to become a warrior. I have always wanted to fight. I also have to look out for my stupid younger brother since he has decided to follow me here," she said. Peter stuck out his tongue at her.

The last to speak was the quiet feminine boy. "My name is Leopold. I am here because I love all things art. Art is an explosion and I must have art to live. Swordsmanship is a very beautiful art." He said with the passion only an artist could hold.

Gilbert examined them all as they spoke. Leopold may be able to learn the craft with grace, but he doubted the boy could become a warrior. He was far too soft for such a life. He would die quickly in a real battle. But he could become an assassin or even a simple fighter. He was sure the boy could handle one-on-one fighting at the very least.

The rest would be just fine to be warriors . . . as long as Marcello got his eyes off of Wendy long enough to actually train. He had a good amount of muscle to him. So, with good training he would turn out to be fairly decent.

With introductions said and done he hand each scout a wooden sword. They looked at the play weapons with skeptical frowns. He only let out a chuckle. "Did you think I would start you off with real swords? I do not wish for you all to die just yet," he said obnoxiously. Each of them looked slightly offended, but none spoke against him. He stood each child in front of a wooden dummy.

"You will practice your proper stance and sword grip. You will practice the proper way to wield and swing at your opponent. When you are ready you will move on to fighting amongst one another." He instructed.

Of course, he had to show the children the proper stance for a proper warrior. Keeping his face towards the children he twisted his torso his the side with his weapon was facing the children. He kept his knees slightly bent and his feet shoulder length apart. "This is the way your body should be positioned. It will make you a smaller target to hit. It will also give you a better range in fighting."

One by one the children copied his stance. While Wendy held a perfect stance Leopold was the most poised. He would suit the life of a dancer with ease. His delicate porcelain features would definitely attract those in fields of dance and theatre.

When Gilbert moved on to show them some basic sword movements they all caught on as quick as he had expected. They put all of the effort they had to offer in attacking the dummies mounted before them. While Peter and Erland destroyed the dummies with their inner rage the others were more delicate and skillful in their approach.

Marcello at very good precision. If a person had been standing before him he would have it every vital point in the human body. He was spot on in every movement of the wooden blade. Gilbert felt his heart race at such excellency. This foolish man before him was fit to fight by his side.

Leopold was also extremely well at handling the sword. His movements were very fluid. It was like watching the movement of a flowing river. Or watching as an icicle melted and the droplets shimmered in the bright sunlight. His movements reminded him of the snow. Beautiful, yet cold and dangerous.

Wendy reminded him very much of himself. Her skill was great and her motions were accurate. He could feel the passion rolling off her in waves. He could see in her a savior waiting to help her fellow people. No matter how great the challenge would become she would never back down. She would accept whatever fate threw at her.

Gilbert kept all of his observations safe within his mind. He would not tell them just how much potential he saw in them. No, he would let them grow and prosper with only the necessary amount of help. But to become fighters strong enough to be by his side in battle they would have to do it themselves.

He would have to get each one to overcome their weaknesses. But, just what kind of weaknesses did these students of his have. That was something he would have to observe in the future. For now, he would just help them to grow stronger.

He sat against a tall Oak tree in the crisp green grass. A gentle breeze blowing across the field before him. It felt as if the world he was in was at peace. Like the people were safe there. But, that was far from the truth.

People in the realm were far from safe. They lived each day in fear of the monsters that lurked in the shadows of night. They feared the reaper of death coming to collect their souls. It seemed that their prayers to the Lunar Gods and Goddesses would never be answered.

The people wanted to go back to a life of simple pleasures. All they wanted was to feel safe as they tucked their small children into their beds for the night. It was Gilbert's job to make sure that happened. He knew why he appeared in the realm. He never appeared anywhere he was not particularly needed for some kind of job.

Though the jobs were not always so life threatening. He had other jobs that were simple and safe. He had once saved a mermaid who had runaway to human land. He had found an ancient treasure that held an elixir to keep one from dying. He had simply helped a man get the man of his dreams to fall in love with him even. There was nothing Gilbert had not seen and nothing he could not accomplish. Of this he was certain.


	3. Chapter 2

Sitting at a bar local bar in the slums of the kingdom Gilbert could be seen enjoying a drink with his two best friends. Francis, a blonde with long way hair, sapphire eyes and a bit of stubble on his chin, and Antonio, a man with sun kissed skin, emerald eyes, shaggy chestnut hair and a gorgeous smile that never left his face.

The bar was smaller than some of the others around the kingdom. It was not very well lit with only some candles here and there to light the place up. There was not enough money in this part of town for lanterns and no one here had access to any of the magical light orbs that lit the village of the nobles or the castle itself. The dark cedar floorboards creaked with every step. The chair and table wobbled unevenly having long since broken. But, the place felt like home to the two Gilbert was now calling his best friends.

A bard was playing music in a dark corner of the small tavern. The flute he played produced a lovely melody and kept the costumers peaceful. That was the job of a bard after all. To keep peace and to give emotional support. When accompanied by magic they were even useful in battle, but that was not the case here. That did not stop Gilberts mind from wandering off to the battles he would fight here.

"Goodness gracious, Gilbert. What is on your mind?" asked his blonde companion as he took a sip of dark red wine. He looked just slightly annoyed with Gilbert's lack of attention.

Gilbert scoffed ever so slightly. But he could not help but to smirk. "Certainly not you if that is what you were hoping for," he responded with a hearty laugh. Antonio joined in the laughter. Francis did not find it funny though as he was slightly insulted.

"Rude!" he exclaimed. But his hard features soon softened. "But really . . . what is going on in that mind of yours? You are not usually so silent."

Gilbert sighed ever so slightly. "I am only thinking of the upcoming battles is all. I want to see the people prosper. I have found some very promising warriors who could be of great help. They are quite young though. So, I fear they are not ready for such a challenge."

Antonio reached out a hand to grasp his forearm firmly. "There may not be a choice in the matter. It is best to get them ready for war. We never know what is going to happen with all the creatures roaming around," he said quietly. His face for once holding a serious expression. His mouth set into a tight frown.

"While I understand that Antonio . . . these warriors are only children. The oldest of them is only about eighteen." The albino frowned and took a big gulp of his pumpkin ale.

"Gilbert, that is only two years younger than you," Francis reminded him. "You must remember that you too are young. And you still battle with your life on the line. You have been doing so for a very long time. Never let something as meaningless as age cloud your judgement."

He knew that his friends were right. This was no time to back down. He needed to make sure the children were prepared for a long and tough battle. That they could carry the weight of the world on their shoulder. They would need to carry on even if the pain became too great to bear. With his mind finally set he finished his forth mug of ale.

"You guys are right. I will help them to grow strong. Then, they can become as awesome as me!" he hollered with a cocky grin. "Well, almost as awesome at the most."

"There we go. There's the Gilbert we know and love," Antonio said. His usual carefree smile back on his face. "Now that things are settled let us drink to our hearts content! To friends!" he declared as he raised his mug in the air.

"To friends!" he and Francis responded raising their glass as well. They all guzzled the alcohol down. The burn that was felt going down their throat was a beautiful thing. Pink eyes slipped closed and a content sigh was let out of pale lips. He felt warm and safe. It was only a temporary feeling, but he welcomed it nonetheless.

When he opened his eyes he found sapphire blue ones staring right into his from up close. "Let us have a contest now that we are in such high spirits again."

The white haired man had to grin at that. He loved games, challenges and contests. He was always a competitive person after all. "What kind of contest?" he asked.

"I propose that you and Antonio have a drinking contest. Whomever wins gets to court me to my chambers, but the loser will be without any sexual interactions for a week."

Antonio and Gilbert shared a look. It was not uncommon for the trio of friends to bed one another. It happened almost every weekend at the very least. The three of them were just sexual beasts by nature. Neither of them wanted to go a week without the sensation of flesh on flesh. But, they also could not back down from such a challenge.

"Game on!" Gilbert shouted. He would not lose. He never lost a battle. And he was not going to start now.

"I also accept your Challenge, Francis," Antonio answered calmly. He would have to keep a calm and clear head to stay focused enough to not lose himself to the powerful intoxication of alcohol.

Each of them were handed a mug of the delicious pumpkin ale. Francis held his hand in the air as a signal to get ready. As soon as that slender hand slammed onto the table top the mugs were upon lips. Each of them drank the alcohol slowly. They did not want to rush it. To go fast was to give in to the toxins laying within the alcoholic poison. They did not want to get so drunk that they blacked out. For how would they have a night full of lust and passion if they were out cold?

But soon after the fifth mug of the contest Gilbert was starting to feel it getting to him. It did not look like it was effecting Antonio as much, but he had only had one mug before the contest begun. Gilbert had drunken four before they even started. The challenge seemed to be unfair to him now.

Gilbert did not give up however. He reached for the sixth glass of ale and lifted it to his mouth with shaking hands. He had almost dropped it since he was feeling so dizzy, but he managed to gulp down every last drop of the now pretty much tasteless ale. But that was a bad idea o his part. He should have known better than to drink more with the way he was feeling.

All he could see around him was steady blackness. It was surrounding him. He felt numb . . . like he was not there at all. Antonio and Francis called out to him. Grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him lightly. He could not hear them. Their voices sounded like nothing more than faint static.

"It looks like I won," Antonio claimed. Though he was ecstatic to have won he knew that he and his blonde friend would have to take Gilbert home. "Before we go to your chambers for our night of passion we should get our drunken friend home and in bed."

Francis grinned and slung an arm over tan shoulders. "Yes, we should do it quickly. I cannot wait for you to have your way with me," he said with a voice as sweet as honey. It made a shiver go down the others spine. The blue eyed man had always been a very sensual man. He could really have almost everyone he desired. Man or Woman.

They each got on one side of Gilbert and put his arms around their shoulders. Waving goodbye to the bartender the left the tavern and entered the dark and cold streets. There was very little light in this area of town. So, both men stayed completely silent. It was never a good idea to put your guard down in the slums. Not only did they have to be on the lookout for monsters, but for thieves, gang members and murderers as well.

Luckily for them they found no trouble as they entered the noble's village. The village never ceased to put the two friends in awe. It was beautiful not to mention huge. The streets were lit by magical floating orbs of light. The king's sorcerer had made this possible, but his prices were too high for those in the slums.

The buildings were made of stone instead of wood and sloppy brickwork. There stood a large church in the center of the village. It was the only building made of ivory. It stood tall with a large clock tower in the very center. This was another contraption made possible by the sorcerer. There were only two clocks in the entire realm. One in the noble village and the other at the center of the King's castle.

They passed the many houses. All of them dark in sleep. The entire village was quiet and peaceful. They did not have to worry too much about monster attacks. The nobles and the castle each had magical barriers to keep the monsters from attack. But it did not always work with the stronger monsters.

It did not take them long to arrive at the castle. But that was not where they were heading. Gilbert was not allowed to live in the castle. Because of his strange features he was born with many of the people of the realm hated and feared him. They believed him to be a demon. But that was not true. Though he was the oldest and the first in line for the throne his parents gave Ludwig the throne instead.

To keep Gilbert safe he sent him to live and work for the church. Even allowing him to have a very high rank when he learnt the ways of the church. He even allowed him to be a warrior to show the people that he would do them no harm. That he was there to help.

But that did not keep his fellow people from hating him. It made Francis and Antonio very sad for their friend. The friend that they thought they had known for years. For no one had a clue that he did not belong in their realm.

When they arrived at the church not too far from the castle they climbed the stairs to Gilbert's room. They helped to strip him of his robes and put him into his nightwear. They put him into bed and threw the cover over him to shield him from the cold. Smiling down at him each of them kissed his forehead before heading to Francis' home in the slums.

Antonio laid his head on Francis' bare chest. The blonde ran his fingers through messy brown hair. Fixing the bed head that he had come to maintain. "Do you think that Gilbert will be okay in these upcoming battles?" he asked quietly.

Pale slender hands lifted a strong tan jaw and green eyes looked into blue. "He is very strong. Stronger than anyone I know. He would never give up. He will never back down. And he will never lose. Even if he falls he will get back up again. We have to believe in him. We can lose faith in him. For though he is strong . . . he needs someone to believe in him. For believing in oneself can only get one so far. Let us never doubt the man." Francis said. His eyes and voice gentle. He placed a chaste kiss to his friend and lover's lip.


	4. Chapter 3

Gilbert woke up to pounding on his door. Not only was there pounding on the door, but in his head as well. He groaned and sat up slowly. His whole world seemed to tilt upside down as he did. He almost fell from the overwhelming feeling. It had been awhile since he had gotten so drunk.

"Gilbert! I know you are in there! Do not ignore me!" He heard a stern voice yell. He groaned even louder. Of course it had to be his little brother, his king, pounding at the door hard enough to break it from the hinges.

"Well you might as well come in since you woke me up oh so kindly," he said. His voice full of annoyance and sarcasm.

Ludwig wasted no time in entering his eldest brother's chambers. He glared at him and crossed his arms. "What is this I hear of your friends carrying you home in the dark of night? I thought you knew of your duties enough to not get drunk off your ass." Gilbert rolled his eyes internally. He hated getting lectured by his younger "brother". It was not fair. But he had to play the role given to him when he entered the realm.

Gilbert stood and stretched slightly. He walked over to his dresser and grabbed a new pair of robes to get dressed in for the day. "I am sorry, my brother. It was not my intention to lose myself like that." He could not help it when his apology did not sound sincere.

Ludwig stormed over to him and grabbed the other by his collar. "Do not forget who you are speaking to dear brother. I am your king. And I am the one protecting you from the hatred of the people. Do not forget that what I have given to you I can just as easily take away." He snarled.

Gilbert's pink eyes went wide. His "brother" hardly ever let such angry and hurtful words leave his lips. He was stunned by what he had said. Though he should not care what this man he still felt hurt because of the false memories and emotions he harbored.

Ludwig sighed and ran a hand through short blonde hair. His blue eyes filled with guilt. "I am sorry. I did not mean that, brother. I have been very stressed having to deal with the increase of monsters in this world. I was worried last night when you did not return home before dark. Please . . . stay safe please. Your friends are not as strong as you. They will not be able to protect you."

Pink eyes closed and a deep breath was taken. "I know you mean no harm in your words. There is a lot on your shoulders. You have a whole kingdom of people to protect. A whole kingdom to guide to success. I am sorry for worrying you. But do not forget that I am here to help you. I am here to fight for you and the people. I will fight until the very end. I will vanquish the monsters and demons in this world. Then, you and the people will not have to live in worry and fear."

Ludwig stared into those pink eyes. The serious expression always filled his heart with such warmth. The pride. The vow he had made to himself and his people. The acceptance of his fate. He could see it all in his brother's eyes. It pained him to know his brother was willing to die to not only protect his people, but to protect him as well.

"Thank you, brother. I will always pray for your strength to never leave you," Ludwig said quietly. He left the room without another word. 'Please . . . never leave my side.' He thought to himself. The pain in his chest only growing.

Gilbert looked down at the white robes in his hands. A frown graced his features. He slid of his sleepwear and got into his robes. "I will not let this kingdom fall. I will not let this realm die." He was determined. He would die to keep this realm from disappearing. That was the promise he made to himself in that moment. He would not break that promise.

He strode out of his chambers to do his daily prayers. He would go to the lunar temple when the full moon rose he had decided. He would cleanse his soul and ask the Gods for the strength to kill all of his enemies. This was a realm he would not let die. He had seen too many deaths. This time he only wanted to see life. Beautiful and lovely life that flowed through the people.

When he finished his prayers he went out to the practice grounds. The children were already practicing it seemed. He wondered how long they had been there. He had woken up a bit later than he normally did. He watched them from a far. Their clothes were covered in dirt and their bodies glistened with sweat. Though he had not given permission for them to battle each other they went on to do so.

Leopold and Marcello were currently going all out even though they only had the wooden blades. Each looked determined to beat the other. He was surprised to see that look on Leopold's feminine face. But there it was as bright as day.

Swords clashed as each tried to land a blow on their opponent. But neither could get a hit on the other. Marcello was blocking with perfect precision. Leopold never lifted his sword to block incoming attacks though. He jumped and span and dived. Rolling across the field to land in kneeling stance. It looked more like he was dancing than fighting, but it worked well for him. Marcello could not land a single hit.

Then, it happened. Leopold ran up a nearby tree and flipped over Marcello's head. His wooden sword gliding across the slightly tanned neck. The brown haired boy dropped his sword and bowed his head. He looked at the pale boy before him. "You have won. Thank you for a good battle." He said with all respect.

The purple eyed boy smiled softly. "And I thank you as well. It is much better to be able to fight a living breathing body than a dummy. It was pure art," he responded with a dreamy sigh. Marcello could not help but to laugh. Of course that was all the pale boy would think of, but that is what made him such a great fighter oddly enough.

Gilbert walked over to the children. He clapped his hands with a wide grin on his face. "Well done! That was excellent!" he exclaimed. The children all looked over to him. Their eyes went wide. He chuckled a bit. "Do not worry. You are not in any trouble. It seems you are way beyond ready to right each other. I knew I was given strong warriors this year. That was by far some of the most amazing skills I have seen since I have started training. You are going to be one hell of a warrior Leopold."

Leopold blushed ever so slightly. He was not very used to getting praise since he had grown up with only his father. A very strict and noble man who would only accept perfection. "Thank you, Sir," he said shyly.

Gilbert had the two of the warriors in training sit beneath the tree in the cool shade. "I will have some water brought out to refresh you all. Today we will be training vigorously since it seems you want to see real action so badly." He had to tease them just a little bit. The children were cute when embarrassed. He went over to one of his fellow monks and asked for him to bring out refreshments for their recruits. He bowed and left to follow the order right away.

He turned to look over at Erland and Peter. The two did not seem to like each other much and there was a heavy competitive aura surrounding the two. It would be perfect for the two to fight one another next. They would either match in strength or one will drive the other to their knees. Gilbert was excited to see what the outcome would be.

"Alright. I would like to see Erland and Peter battle now. You two are fairly similar in style and in strength. So, I would like to see how you fair to one another."

They both looked each other in the eyes and glared. Both were determined to beat other. They looked just about ready to go for the kill. Gilbert was silently thankful they did not have real weapons as of yet. That would turn out to have devastating results.

He sat and watched as the two boy took their stances. Their eyes bore into the others through narrowed slits. They circled one another. Waiting to see who would be the first to strike. Neither wanting the other to have an advantage. A strong breeze blew and leaves were swept into the wind.

Peter was the first to attack. He did not have the patience to wait any longer. Erland held his blade in a defensive position, but though he blocked the force off the blow was enough to make him stumble back. The blonde used that as an opportunity to strike again. Erland quickly side stepped out of the way.

The red head quickly lowered his stance and lunged forward. Taking his aim low. This stance was useful in both evasion and in attacking the abdominal. If the weapon were to be inserted and sliced correctly one could be disemboweled.

Peter noticed his opponent's goal and took a large jump backwards. He had actually managed to jump pretty far. That was amazing all in itself. Most human beings could not jump so far, but he had a fairly good idea how he had come across such strength and ability. Being the brother of a mighty sorcerer had its perks after all.

They each dash towards each other with their swords drawn back. When they reached one another their wooden swords clashed. They continued to attack with rapid movements. Neither of them was holding back. But it was obvious who the stronger of the two was.

With every powerful blow Peter dished out Erland would stumble. He could not match the blonde's strength no matter how hard he tried. Though the two matched in skill . . . skill was not everything. You had to have a balance of skill and strength. Of will and focus. Of pride and modesty.

The children showed great promise. But they were still far from ready to fight for the lives of themselves and their fellow people. Right now all they were thinking about was being better than the others. But that is not what being a true warrior was all about.

Soon, Erland began to slow. He was losing his energy and focus on the battle. Peter hit the red heads sword with so much force not only did the wood break, but the boy fell onto his back. Blue eyes looked at another pair of the same shade. A wooden blade touched an unprotected chest. "You have failed," said the blonde.

Erland grit his teeth and clenched his fists. "Do not think that this is over. I will get stronger. And in time . . . I will be the one to defeat you," he said with a growl.

"Well done. That was a good battle. Both of you have great skill. We will have to work on increasing your strength Erland. Please continue on in training," the red eyed man said to his two students.

Peter grinned and walked over to Marcello and Leopold. Erland watched him walk away. "It is not fair that he is that strong. We are of the same age and build."

Gilbert rest a hand on his shoulder. "Life is not always fair. It is full of hardships that you must overcome. And this just happens to be one of those times. I have no doubt that you can become just as strong if not stronger than Peter. Do not give up hope."

Erland nodded and took a deep breath. The elder warrior was right. What was he expecting so early on in their training? He vowed from that very moment that he would never give up in defeating Peter. He would overcome his doubt and become a great and powerful warrior.


	5. Chapter 4

Gilbert had been told by his brother that his presence was required at a meeting with his council members. His presence was rarely ever needed at these meetings. So, he figured that something was terribly wrong.

He wasted no time getting to the castle from the training grounds. He looked up at the sky. The sun was just getting ready to start setting. He hoped that the meeting would not be too long. He had plans to go and pray at the lunar temple on this day. It was always best to pray at the temple when the moon was at its fullest.

He was welcomed at the castle doors by numerous guards. He bowed to them and them to him. He blessed their day and then went on to meet his brother and the council. He walked down the long corridors. The walls were lined with photos of the royal family. From the beginning of the royal court on to the present. There were small pillars holding gold statues and exotic vases. It never ceased to amazing him the beauty he could find in the realms he visited.

He entered the meeting room and found that everyone was already seated and waiting for him. Next to Ludwig was his advisor Kiku, a short black haired man with brown eyes. He wore simple white and gold robes. On his other side was the royal sorcerer Arthur. He had ash blonde hair, green eyes and wickedly think eyebrows. He rarely ever wore a happy expression. He always looked serious and cranky.

There was also the royal blacksmith, Sadiq. This man wore a white veil to cover his eyes. He wore red cleric garments. His pants and boots though were black. There were two others in the room that he did not recognize. He gave his brother a questioning look. The blonde motioned for him to take a seat. So he did.

"Gilbert, we have called you forth for very important matters. The amount of demons in the realm is increasing rapidly. Arthur has been observing and study the rate in which they are increasing for the past couple of weeks," Ludwig stated.

Arthur took that moment as his que to speak. He looked over at the albino warrior. "I believe that these monsters and demons are being summoned by another sorcerer in the world. Now we know that monsters and demons have always been a problem here. But they came in small amounts due to accidentals rifts in the timeline. But I sense there is a strong magic attached to the creatures that have been appearing," he explained.

Ludwig cleared his throat. "We have brought two other sorcerers to our castle in hope that they can assist Arthur in tracking down just where and whom this magic is coming from. These two are Lukas and Vlad. They come from another kingdom far away. But they have been having the same issues in their kingdom. So, they have offered to help."

Gilbert had listened to all that was said to him very carefully. Just as he had predicted . . . something was terribly wrong. "So, what is the reason I was brought here then?" he asked. He already knew what the answer was. But there was no harm in asking.

"We are going to need you and your army to get ready for war. When we find the person responsible for the disasters in this world he will be confronted. We have no doubt that he will send out a full blown attack when he is found out," Kiku stated.

"I am preparing brand new and stronger weapons and armor with the help of the sorcerers. I will need to make weapons for your new recruits as soon as possible," said the blacksmith.

Gilbert's red eyes flew open. "You cannot be serious! They are not ready to fight a battle this large!"

Sadiq glared at him. His arms crossed against his chest. "Well get them ready. You will need everyone for this battle."

Ludwig sighed. He gave Gilbert a look that showed just how much he did not want to have to do such a thing. "I am sorry Gilbert. But Sadiq is right. This is going to be the largest fight this realm has ever seen. For it will not be against human men, but against the most wicked of creatures.

Red eyes shut as he felt his body fill with despair. He vowed to keep this realm safe and alive. But the threat was much greater than he had thought. Would he be able to protect the children in the heat of battle? Would he win a fight this great?

His mind began to fill with doubt and his heart swelled with sorrow. "I understand," he said quietly. He stood from his chair and left the room. Ignoring the calls of protest as he left. His head stayed low as he walked down the empty halls. His eyes were unfocused to the floor beneath him.

He would need the lunar Gods' and Goddesses' strength more than ever now. His entire army would need the strength of their deities. He did not want to lose this realm. Nor did he want to lose his life. Tonight was the greatest of nights to have chosen to go to the lunar temple.

He left for the temple as soon as he stepped out of the castle doors. It was about a forty minute walk from the castle to get there, but he hoped that it would be worth it.

Upon entering the forest he was immediately surround by nature. The tress rose high above him. Many of the leaves were red, and orange, and yellow. Leaves crunched beneath his feet as they covered the path he walked. It was peaceful for now, but the sun was beginning to leave the sky to give way to the moon.

He needed to get to the temple before the moon was high in the sky. The forest was not a safe place to roam during the dark of night. Not only did the creatures of hell lurk in the shadows, but common creatures such as wolves roamed around at night.

He did not want to be a victim of either creatures. He was armed with his sword nor his armor. The lunar temple was a place of peace and supreme worship. So, one must be unarmed and pure in their intentions.

He reached the temple just as the silver moon was enter the purple and blue skies. The temple was made of dark grey stone. It was perfectly smooth. It was fairly small and looked more like a tower than a temple. As he entered he removed his boots.

He walked down the marble pathway down to the alter. There was only one small, circular window on the wall. The window was placed precisely so that the moon light would reflect onto the small pool of water near the alter. This pool was for the last act of the spiritual ritual. For the purification of the mind, body and soul.

Gilbert kneeled before the alter and began his prayers. He would make sure that the deities heard his prayers on this night.

"Oh, my Gods and Goddesses of the moon, I pray upon this night to ask for your strength. I ask for your strength to keep this realm safe from the creatures of hell. I ask for your strength to protect this realm and its people from Evil. I hope for your aid in this fight. I shall lead this world to victory. To safety. Please, aid me in this battle.

Allow for me to overpower thy enemies. Protect my fellow warriors from harm. Keep my king's mind, body and heart to stay strong in these times of disaster. Do not allow this realm and its people to fall in despair. To fall apart. This I ask of you on this night. Laudem meam narrabit usque ad lunarem globum."

With his prayers spoken he took a moment of silence. It was a show of respect that you do not wish for them to respond right away. It is a sign of patience. This was done to show that your wish was not one of greed.

When he had completed his moment of silence it was time for him to go forth in the ritual. He stood before the temple. Striking a match he light the blue candle that stood before him. He bowed his head once more to chant.

"Cor meum et caro mea est anima mea domino et supra. Accipio a domino meo ad consilia capienda. Accipio curam mei finis. Iter illud addam me elegitis. Et debellabo ego usque ad mortem."

Upon finishing his chant he opened his pink eyes. The moon finally lay high in the sky to give light to the pool beside him. He undid his holy robes and slid them of slowly. His pale body shined in the moonlight. It looked as if he were surrounded by a glistening silver aura.

He stepped into the pool of water slowly. Walking forward he was soon encased by the clear liquid. He closed his eyes as he felt himself being purified. All of the worries, doubts and stress left his mind immediately. His body was completely relaxed and his mind at ease.

The strength of the gods could be felt entering his veins. It felt very empowering, but he knew that he would not be able to wield the power just yet. He was just happy that his prayers were answered. This gave him the peace of mind he needed to be able to fight in the upcoming war.

The holy priest laid in the pool for what felt like hours. And in reality it probably was. When he exited the water to get redressed his fingers and toes were wrinkled up. He had always hated when that happened, but that was nature.

When he had left the temple it was much darker than when he had arrived. One could hardly see two feet in front of them while walking at these hours. Gilbert had no choice however. He had to return home to his own temple. He had duties to preform there after all.

He made his way through the forest with caution. One would never be too safe. A warrior was never to let his guard down. The stars in the sky twinkled above him. They shined bright as they led the man home. The stars were the only things to be trusted at night along with the moon of course.

In the distance he heard the howl of a wolf. His muscled tensed up at the sound, but it seemed to be fairly far from where he was located. He could also hear an owl hoot. But these sounds were not the ones he was most worried about.

To his left and to his right he could hear the sounds of leaves crunching. The sound was not coming from him for he had stopped moving. He tried to peer through the darkness, but he could not see anything. The sound seemed to be getting closer and closer.

Within moments Gilbert found himself laying on his back. He did not even have time to register what had happened to him when he felt himself being lifted and thrown into the air. A large force struck him down from in midair. His body crashed onto the hard earth and a loud crack was heard. Upon landing he had tried to catch himself. That of course landed him a broken wrist.

He groaned in pain. He was sure his rib was broken as well from that powerful blow. For a moment he cursed that he did not have his armor at the very least. But that was the last thought he had before something crashed into him skull.

His body went limp and he fell to the ground. His vision grew blurry. It would soon fade to black completely. But he was fighting the sleep that was coming for him. Just as he was beginning to pass out a saw a human form before him. He could see Hazel eyes looking into his.

"Foolish human. Staying out this late at night. It you were from this realm I would have let you die," he heard the figure say. And just like that he was out cold.


	6. Chapter 5

When Gilbert had finally woken up he felt completely stiff. He wanted nothing more than to move. But as he tried to sit up he found that he was incased in glass. His heart beat furiously against his chest as he began to panic. He tried to push up the glass lid, but it would not budge.

Just he was about to scream he saw a mess of blonde hair and green eyes above him. It was the royal sorcerer, Arthur. "Do not panic and stay calm. I will get you out of there."

Gilbert nodded as he tried to calm himself down. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. When Arthur saw to it that he was calm he conjured up his magic circle to make the glass surrounding the pale man's body disappear. "Why was in confined in that glass tomb?" he asked quietly.

Arthur sighed. "We found you in quite bad shape. Though your wounds were easy to heal . . . we could not get you to wake up. We were beginning to think that we had lost you. And I fear that what had attacked you kept coming back to finish you off. We had you encased in the protective glass to keep you safe until you were to awaken."

Gilbert could not believe what he was hearing. The thing . . . whatever it was . . . it was still out there and it was after him. Why him? Was it because he was an abnormality in this realm? He wanted to figure out why it was after him and just what it was exactly. "You said I would not wake up. Just how long was I asleep?"

"Only a week. Thank the Gods and Goddesses for that one. We feared you would not be around when the war began."

Gilbert scoffed at that. "The awesome me would never let a great war happen without me!" he shouted. A cocky grin on his face. Arthur rolled his eyes, but in reality he was glad to have the man back.

The white haired man laughed obnoxiously. He was still worried and curious about whatever was after him. But he was not going to worry about that just yet. He knew he would destroy whatever it was. The only reason it had even gotten to him like that was because he was defenseless at the time.

"Oh, just you wait. I am going to tear the creature who had the balls to attack me to shreds," he said to Arthur with a malicious grin spread across his face. Green eyes looked into pink as the words were said. The blonde man feared the look on the other's face. It was the look of the devil. He did not like that look on the holy man's face.

"I am sure that you will. You will rid of all evil creatures in this world. That is your job as a warrior and a holy priest."

Gilbert gave him a blank stare and then blinked. He nodded as he came back to his senses. "Yes. It is my job to rid the world of hell's creatures. That is needed to keep the people here alive and well. And of course someone as great and strong as me will do this easily." He bowed to the sorcerer ever so slightly before he left the room. He figured he should go alert his brother that he was now awake.

Luckily his room was only a few doors down. He burst straight into the room without bothering to knock. Hoping to catch his brother in a naughty deed of some kind he only found him to be reading some documents. "Such a bore," he thought to himself.

Ludwig looked up from his documents with a look of utter annoyance, but when he saw that it was his brother he looked relieved. "You have finally awaken. Thank the Gods and Goddesses! I was so worried!" he exclaimed. He got up from his desk and began to walk over to his elder brother.

Gilbert met him and gave him a hug. He knew that was what his brother had wanted. "Yes. I am alive and well brother. You no longer need to worry. You never have to worry about me. Leaving without any defense was a mistake on my part, but it was required," he stated.

Ludwig pulled away from the hug and made a face. "I know. I was told you were found in the forest near the lunar temple. I assume you were pleading to our deities. So, I know it was just an unfortunate circumstance. Please at least take a guard with you the next time you go."

Gilbert made a face at the thought of being followed around by guards. Just the mere thought of it made him feel like he was being made out to be a damsel in distress. "I will not be needing a guard. If you really want me to be under protection so badly then get your sorcerer to put a magical barrier around me." Though he had said it as a joke Ludwig was actually considering it.

Ludwig did not tell his elder brother that he was taking the sarcastic statement to heart. He knew his brother would protest and would likely start drama between them. "Fine. Have it your way. I should be getting back to my paperwork now."

Red eyes rolled as they watched the blonde sit at his desk. "My God. Do you ever do anything fun? I mean when was the last time you got laid?" he sneered. It was really annoying that his brother was always so stern and seriously. He could at least loosen up once in a blue moon. Then, maybe he would not be so stressed all the time.

Ludwig looked up at his brother with anger and embarrassment clear in his features. "Do not speak of such nonsense! I do not have time for things like that! I have a kingdom to run!" he shouted angrily.

Gilbert waved his hand at him. "Yeah, yeah. I know. But a little fun would not hurt you. I bet it would actually help you to run the kingdom better than you do now."

Ludwig's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Are you saying that I do not run my kingdom well?"

"No. You run the kingdom just fine. I am only saying that it would be less stressful if you maybe took some time for yourself. I worry about your health."

"I am not the one battling in the army and risking my life. You should only worry about yourself and the lives of your warriors."

Gilbert sighed. His brother was always very stubborn. He liked to do things by the book and followed every rule there was in life. He wished that he would do one thing wrong. One thing fun. Maybe when all of this was over he would make him do just that.

"Why don't you go on and check up on your recruits. They have been training with Sadiq while you have been asleep," Ludwig suggested.

"Oh! The children! I had almost forgotten. Thank for reminding me, Brother!" he yelled as he ran out the door. He ran down the halls to get to the training grounds.

He wondered how much the children had improved while he was away. Sadiq was an amazing warrior, but he rarely fought in the war unless it was absolutely necessary. He had someone very important at home. So, he did not wish to risk his life if the battle was not life or death for the kingdom.

His bothersome and lazy boyfriend was at home for him after all. Not to mention the lover he had at the castle. Luckily they all accepted the relationship. For cheating was something that Gilbert hated. Sleeping around is fun and all, but once committed he believed you should stay that way.

But the moments that Sadiq did have to battle were amazing. He was a very wise man and could always see right through his opponents. He knew every move they would attempt to make with just one look at them. Not only was he very wise, but he had amazing strength. There were not very many men who could rival him in strength. Gilbert was one of the few that could.

Walking up to the battle grounds he saw that the children were not practicing with their weapons. They were working on hand to hand combat. Gilbert had not made it this far with his students. But they seemed to have started recently.

Marcello was up against Peter and was holding his own, but it was obvious who the superior was. Leopold was going up against Wendy. The he was more graceful and had a better chance at dodging, Wendy was stronger. Her hits did more damage.

Erland himself was fighting Sadiq. Gilbert drew together his eyebrows in confusion. He did not understand why a fourteen year old was fighting someone in their late twenties. It would be one thing if the boy was fully trained, but they were only about two weeks into training. So, Gilbert felt that it was not the time to be fighting someone so much more experienced.

However, Erland was doing quite well. He seemed to really have a knack for hand on hand fighting. He was far better at it than wielding a sword. That was for sure. His stance was absolutely perfect and he drew back just enough for each punch. For each kick he held his body at the perfect angle.

He was nowhere near the masked man in terms of strength. But it was obviously that the man was going easy on him. And it looked like Erland knew that as well.

"You do not have to go easy on me old man," he sneered. Sadiq raised an eyebrow from behind the veil he wore. He motioned for the young boy to continue speaking. "If I am to know just how strong I need to become to beat you then I need to know how strong you really are. I do not care if I get hurt. I will heal."

Sadiq shrugged. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "If that is your wish than I shall grant it. But do not going crying to your mother when you get hurt child," he answered.

"Wait!" the red eyed warrior intervened. "I cannot allow you to get hurt so badly, Erland."

The red head rolled his eyes. "It is my decision to make. Not yours. Stay out of it."

Gilbert began to walk over to them so that he could stop the two, but they immediately flew back into battle. And this time Sadiq really did not hold back. Erland only lasted a total of eight minutes until Sadiq landed a kick so hard it had the child writhing in pain.

Gilbert ran over to the boy. He knelt down at his side and lifted his shirt. Already a very large and ugly purple bruise was forming over his ribs. "Well you have definitely broken your ribs. This is why I did not want you fighting him just yet." He lifted the boy up carefully and looked over at the blacksmith. "You did not need to go so far as to break bones."

Sadiq shrugged showing no signs of concern. "He wanted to see for himself just how strong I am. I gave him the answer he was seeking for. You cannot protect these children Gilbert. They must be able to fend for themselves." With those last words he left the training grounds.

Gilbert knew that in a way he was right. The children needed to be able to protect themselves. They needed to realize that they could become gravely injured. That they could die. He could not go easy on the children. For nothing ever went easy on him. With his thoughts cleared up he called out to the remaining children.

All of them hurried over to the albino man. They were covered in bruises and cuts. Peter was holding his side and his knuckles were purple. Wendy could hardly stand without wincing in pain. Marcello and Leopold looked worn out, both were bleeding quite a bit.

"Let's get you all cleaned up and to the sorcerer for healing. I hope this lesson has taught you just how fragile you really are. Being a warrior is not about fun it games. It is not just about being the best. It is about perseverance. You must have the will to fight to the death. If you are not willing to die . . . then I suggest you do not come back to training."


	7. Chapter 6

A pair of hooded figures sat at a small rounded table in a very dark room. In front of them stood a crystal ball. If one looked into the ball they would see the bodies of multiple men and women living in the slums being torn apart. Their screams of agony echoed of the walls.

"Do those screams not sound like music to one's ears my brother?" the smaller of the two figures said. His mouth twist into a maniacal smile. It stretched from ear to ear.

"It sounds annoying. Makes me want to kill them myself just to shut them the hell up," the bigger of the two said with a growl. He huffed and switched the vision inside the crystal ball to something else.

Now in the ball was the image of the white haired prince. He was in the castle speaking with his brother it seemed. He was concerned about the children and the upcoming war.

"Why are you always so focused on this bastard?" the small one asked. "Actually, come to think of it, why is he still alive? I know I sent out demons to kill him. And I know that he was unarmed." He seemed to be suspicious.

The elder growled loudly. "How the hell should I know?! Maybe he had a trick up his sleeve. Hell his brother could have that damn sorcerer protecting his ass." He slammed his hands on the table. He did not like be accused of doing things his brother did not like, Even if he did do said things.

The younger one sighed. "I am sorry for accusing you. I know you have been working very hard at getting enough souls collected for our summoning. And I thank you very much for the hard work."

The taller one huffed. "That is right you damn bastard. You better apologize to me. How dare you even think to insult me, your eldest brother."

The younger bowed his head to his brother. "Yes. I apologize. I know that you want to see the end of this realm just as badly as I. We will become the rulers of this realm once it falls apart. We will rule the world of demons and create a new race. A superior race."

"Yes. That is our goal. Never forget that I hold the magic possible to complete this goal. Never betray me little brother."

"Never in my life would I think of such a thing."

The two embraced one another and kissed each other's cheeks. The crystal ball became void of any visions and the room grew darker than before. They needed rest for their next attack.

Gilbert walked out of his brother's meeting room. It seemed that there was no new information about the mysterious sorcerer. They had yet to locate whomever was summoning the creatures into the realm.

He wished that they would just find whoever was responsible sooner rather than later. People were going to continue to die if they did not stop the flow of demons entering their world.

"Prince Gilbert!" he heard his name being called from further down the hall. A castle guard was running over to him.

"What is it? What is wrong?" the prince asked.

The guard bowed before him. Acknowledging his royal status. "There has been an attack in the slums. It seems that more of the devil's creatures are appearing. We need you and your fellow warriors to stop the attacks right away."

Gilbert did not have to hear any more from the guard. He ran out to the castle and went to the warrior's barracks. He alerted his men of the situation and each of the men began to throw on their armor.

They grabbed their weapons and headed to the stable. After their horses were equipped they all rode off to the slums. People gathered in the streets as they rode through the village to the slums. Pink eyes scanned the audience of people cheering for them to fight.

Children looked at the fighters with so much adoration. They wielded small wooden swords and cheered for their victory. These fighters were the hope of the people. He had to make sure that his men arrived safely as to not let these people down.

They rode into the slums and the screams of terror filled the air. Windows were barred shut and people ran the streets. Gilbert and his soldiers were immediately thrown into battle. There was only a small amount of creatures. It looked to be about a group of twenty five or so.

As soon as they rode into the slums the creatures focused their attacks on the soldiers. This gave the people any opportunity to run to their homes. Gilbert unsheathed his sword just as a demon was coming after him. His pierced his blade straight into the beings heart. His body turned to ash and vanished.

These seemed to be low level creatures. They would be easily killed just by stabbing or slicing into any vital areas. His men had no problems in killing the beasts quickly. But as soon as they killed off the group of low levels demons more appeared before them.

This time it seemed to be a group of thirty. They had more human like features. That could only mean one thing. These were stronger opponents. But Gilbert did not feel threatened. Quite the opposite actually. He felt thrilled to be able to fight against something that would actually give him a challenge.

He could easily tell whom was leader of this group of demons. He stood in the very center of the formation. He was very tall and had glowing purple eyes and ashen blonde hair. He wore a childish smile on his round face. He looked right at Gilbert as he raised his sword. He was challenging him as he was leader of men.

Gilbert gave him a level stare as he too raised his sword. A moment passed in silence before the two sides became one. Gilbert's sword met the demon leader's with a force powerful enough to send those close to them to the ground. Both men's eyes widened at the force of the blow. Sure it was normal for the demon to be that strong. But a mere human could never have that much power.

"Just who are you?" the demon asked. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. But there was also curiosity in those violet eyes.

Gilbert pulled back his sword and went to slice at the demon's neck. He jumped back a few feet. "I am the prince of this world. I am the High Priest closest to our deities. I am the warrior blessed with the strength of our gods and goddesses."

As the two leaders conversed the battle around them did not cease. Blades could be heard clashing. Cries of pain filled the air. The smell of blood grew stronger. But neither men would have their soldiers back down. That was not the way things were done.

The blonde demon lunged for Gilbert and as soon as the pink eyed man went to counter attack the demon was gone. Gilbert stumbled back in surprise. The demon appeared behind him and sliced at the warriors back.

Gilbert let out a cry of pain. But he did not stumble or fall. He stood tall and strong. Turning to face the demon he glared. "That was a dirty trick, demon," he spat out.

The demon laughed quietly. A playful smile on his face. "I am a demon. Did you think I would fight fair?" he disappeared again to appear right behind the man. "Did you think this battle would be easy?" he whispered.

Gilbert whipped around quickly and slashed the demon's arm. The purple eyed beast hissed. "I did not think it would be easy at all. But I did not think you would fear a human enough to need to hide yourself during battle." The demon growled as the albino smirked. His plan was to anger the demon into fighting where he could see him. And it looked to be working.

"Insolent human! I can beat you no matter how we are to fight! Just watch as your life slips out of your hands."

Gilbert was not threatened by these words. He laughed as the battle between them began once again. They started slashing at each other with great speed and power. Again the power was great enough to send those too close to the ground. The earth trembled beneath them.

The clouds above them grew darker and the wind raged on. Thunder crashed in the sky and lightening flashed. But no rain fell as the two continued to engage in battle. Many of the soldiers on both sides stopped to watch the two fight.

The demon levitated just a foot above the ground as he fought. But true to his words he did not hide his presence. He was surrounded in a dark purple aura that resembled flames. His blade seemed to be covered in black flames. He slashed his sword in front of him and the flames shot out at the warrior.

Gilbert dodged them just in time. So, instead of hitting their intended target they hit one of his soldiers. The human melted right before everyone. Gilbert's eyes went wide as one of his men died.

It was not in his plans to have his men died. And that soldier was not the only one to die. The death sent the other demons back into attack mode and the humans were slow to react. He watched as another one of his men was killed. This one killed by decapitation. The others were injured by the demons, but they still fought on.

Gilbert felt his body become engulfed in rage. He felt something burning at his core. He turned to look at the demon who caused the deaths of two of his men. Purple eyes met bright red. The pale body surrounded in a bright white aura. His blade turned into a blade of light.

The blade was lifted to the sky and slashed down violently. A blade of white light swung at the demon. Violent eyes went wide and he hardly had time to dodge the attack. His arm was hacked off completely by the light.

Gilbert continued to slash violently. Sending out multiple blades of light in each and every direction. Soon the demons body has hacked into pieces. The army of demons surrounding him met the same fate. But thankfully the humans were safe from the light. It seemed to only hurt creatures of hell.

When all of the demon bodies turned to ash his body fell limp to the ground. The aura surrounding him vanished and his eyes faded back to their pink color. His men looked at him in both fear and wonder. Some of them thought that the man must be a demon as well. A monster living amongst them. Some of them even voiced this matter. But the others argued against the thought. They said he must be a creature of light. He must be one of the moon's creatures sent here to guide them to the light.

Gilbert was thankful of the people who fought on his side. They protected him from the villagers who wanted to burn him. He was glad that he had people who were loyal to him.

He stood up when he had regained his strength. He looked at the people before him. "My fellow warriors. My citizens . . . I do not want for you to fear me. The power granted to me is the power blessed onto me by the gods and goddesses. I prayed upon the alter and asked for them to lend me their strength. The power that you have all just witnessed is their answer to my prayers. The gods and goddesses are on our side. With them on our side we will not lose to the demons. We will have victory. We shall be lead to safety my friends. We will no longer have to live in fear!" he shouted to the people surrounding him. And all around the cheers could be heard for miles.


	8. Chapter 7

The dark tavern in which Gilbert regularly drank was full upon that night. Many of the villagers had gotten together in celebration at the small victory. Gilbert sat with his brother at a large booth. Gilbert was clothed in all white. Instead of his usual holy robes he was clothed in noble clothing. He wore white fitted pants, a button down shirt adorned with lace and pearls and his silver circlet was for once placed upon his head.

Many requested to be in the prince's presence. Of course he knew that on this night many of his suitors would try to approach him. Especially now that he was not dressed in his holy robes. When dressed for the church many people left him be to keep the image of the holy man from being tainted.

"You have many suitors waiting to speak to you tonight. Will you not greet any of them?" asked his brother. For once out in celebration. He was there more out of duty than in celebration though.

Gilbert huffed a bit. "Brother. I wish to be with one that I love. These people only want me for the money, strength and power."

"You do not know that for sure. It may true for most of them. But I am sure there is someone out there who wants you for more than just that."

"Well if there is I have yet to meet them. Unless you are speaking of Antonio and Francis. But I know that you are not since you want me to marry someone of royal or noble status."

"That is true, but it looks like even if you wish to ignore them all you are going to be forced to speak to at least one suitor on this night."

Gilbert looked to see what his brother was referring to. He saw a slender male talking with their guards rather impatiently. When it seemed that the man was not getting the answer that he desired he grabbed the guards arm and flipped him to the ground. The other guard went to stop him from moving forward, but he was kicked right in the gut. Straightening his posture the brown haired man walked over the King and Prince.

Ludwig stood from his spot as the man stood before them. "What business do you have with us that is so important you had to attack our guards?" he asked.

The man huffed and rolled his amber eyes. "My business is my own. I wish to speak to the prince . . . alone," replied the man.

"What is your name?" questioned the king.

"My name is Lovino, your highness," was his answer. He bowed like any proper noble would.

"And what business do you have with my brother?"

"I only wish to speak with him of the upcoming battle. If I could easily get pass your guards then I am sure I would be worthy to fight among the Prince's army."

Ludwig nodded. "Very well. You may speak with my brother."

Gilbert growled under his breath. "You two speak as if I am not right here. I think I am perfectly capable of deciding whom I will and will not speak with."

"It is true that you are capable of doing so. But those who wish to speak with you in such a violent matter must go through me first," the king responded before leaving the two.

The noble took a seat next to the prince without even asking if he was allowed to be seated in his presence. Just as he was about to speak he was interrupted. "Your brother is a pain in the ass. I do not like that man," the noble started.

Gilbert looked at him in shock for a moment. No one ever spoke ill of his brother. In just moments he was laughing with his arm thrown over the male's shoulders. "Oh god. That was great! I like you already. You've got guts kid."

Lovino raised a slim brow. "Kid? I am about the same age as you. If not slightly older."

Gilbert scoffed a bit. But he knew the man's words were true. So, he did not argue. "Why are you really here? If you were here to fight with me you would have gotten straight to the point."

"You are a very smart man," Lovino committed. "I watched as you fought today. You are strong. And your speech at the end of your little show was perfect. It kept the people from questioning your powers. But the powers that you possessed during battle were nothing short of demonic and you and I both know it."

Pink eyes narrowed. "Are you here to threaten me then?" he asked. Hand drawn to the hilt of his blade.

"Quite the opposite actually. Do not go assuming you know my intentions, bastard," he said. His voice filled with anger for being insulted in such a way. "I have come to offer my aid in your protection. Also, I wish to make the powers you possess stronger."

Gilbert looked at the man up and down. "What power do you possess to make my powers stronger?" he asked. The man did not look like a sorcerer.

"That is for me to know and you to find out." The amber eyes filled with mischief and a playful smirk made its way onto his face.

Gilbert wore his own playful smirk. "I am sure I could get you to tell me. I always get what I want after all." He leaned in close to the man. A dark blush spread across the slightly tanned noble.

"Is that so? And what is it that you want?" he asked. A slight stutter in in words.

Gilbert found the man to be incredibly adorable now. He was sexy before with the way he took charge to get what he wanted. The way he took down those guards. He was not going to lie. He had caught his attention in that moment.

"Maybe I want you." With those simple words stated he brought his lips to the noble man's own. They were soft despite the harshness of the words that flowed out of them.

The brown haired man was startled by the action. He was sure that the prince was just going to tease him. That seemed like something he would do with his personality. But it seemed he just went out and took what he wanted. But this would work to his advantage. If he could get the man to fall in love with him then he would be able to get exactly what he wanted.

Lovino was soon kissing back. But he kept the action simple as to feign being shy. He pulled back shortly after. He huffed and crossed his arms. "I am afraid that is all you will get from me. I do not just give myself to whomever wants me. And I have no need for a relationship."

He was only playing hard to get. But that would ignite Gilbert's want for him even more. For the prince had just stated that he got whatever he wanted and he had just denied him. He could tell from the look in the man's pink eyes that his plan was working. His challenge was accepted.

"Trust me beautiful. By the time I am through with you I will be all you can think about." He looked into the pink eyes as they flashed red for just a moment. He felt his heart skip a beat. A pale hand ran down his chest. "Now, tell me how you will make me strong enough to defeat the demon army that is being formed."

Though he had no plans to tell him anything he felt compelled to say something. Gilbert had put the man in a trance without even knowing it. "The power is in my blood. In my flesh. My body and my soul. All the power that I hold can be obtained by you just by physical contact."

When he saw the smirk on pink lips he fell out of the trance. Realizing what happened he growled loudly. "Dammit you Demon! Do not use your powers on me!" he yelled.

Pink eyes widened. "Demon? I am not demon I assure you. I know that for some reason I was granted these powers, but I am purely human." He did not like the thought that he could possibly be a demon. That he could be the very thing he was fighting. Besides, it made no sense. He had not shown of any demonic qualities before coming to this realm.

He was sure that he was just granted these powers by the gods and goddesses of the realm. Surely they were not permanent. At least that is what he had hoped. He frowned.

When Lovino saw the look of distress on the prince's face he sighed. He did not know what else to say. The albino man had to accept that he was cursed in this realm. He was cursed to become what he hated the most. This was the curse given to him at birth. But it seemed that the prince did not know this. He wondered if he should tell him. He doubted the man would accept it. At least not yet. There was much the younger man did not know. After all . . . he had been watching for years.

Lovino sighed. "I am sorry for upsetting you, your highness," he apologized. Reaching into his pocket his took out a small black whistle. It was made purely of onyx. He took the other's hand and set in in his palm gently. The white haired man gave him a questioning look. "This here is a whistle that is made to summon me. I am the only one in the whole realm whom can hear it. It does not matter how far I am. I will come to you right away to aid you in battle and to give you strength. After all, I want you to win."

Gilbert looked at the whistle and thought of the man's words to him. When he looked up said man was nowhere to be seen. He wondered how the man had disappeared so suddenly. But he figured he must be really have the power to make him stronger if he could vanish within seconds. That was some high level sorcery to perform.

He put the whistle in his pocket just as Ludwig walked over to him. The blonde had two drinks in hand and looked slightly flushed. His cheeks tinted a light shade of pink. He handed his elder brother a mug of ale. "Did the conversation go well?"

Gilbert took a drink of the ale and nodded. "It did. He wants to help make the army stronger by offering his own strength and power." He left out the information about his demonic powers and that the man was a sorcerer. "But we have other matters to discuss." The king gave him a question look. "You are blushing," Gilbert stated.

With that said Ludwig blushed even more. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It does not have anything to do with our discussion at all. I am only curious as to what made my little brother blush." Ludwig stayed silent. He chose not to answer him. But this only fueled Gilbert's curiosity. "Did you meet a girl you fancy?"

Ludwig pursed his lips. "I did not meet a girl."

"So, a boy then?" Ludwig's small blush turned darker in shade and Gilbert blushed. "Oooh. What is his name?"

The blonde sighed. He knew that his brother was not going to let this go. He had been trying to get him court someone for years. He decided it was best just to answer him honestly. "His name is Dimitri."

"Is he a prince? A noble? What is he?"

"Well . . . actually he is just a commoner."

"A commoner?! After all the hard time you gave me about courting a noble you fancy a commoner?" Gilbert was not angry. He was thoroughly entertained.

"Well, you said you wanted me to have some fun. For once I thought maybe I would listen to my elder brother's words." The brother's embraced and cheers were given. The angry roars from hell could not be heard in the distance.


	9. Chapter 8

Lovino sat in his bed and looked at the ceiling. In his hands he held a book that was worn with age. It was thick with a leather cover. This book was his greatest treasure. Given to him by one with the most knowledge of his kind. The book had been handed down for generations and knew information learned was always added.

He opened the thick binding to a blank page. He ran his hand across the paper gently. He grabbed a quill from his desk and dipped it in ink. Carefully, so that he did not let the ink to drip, he began to write his own findings.

Gilbert stood in the castle's dressing room with his tailor. An impatient and bored expression on his face. He had been in the same room for five hours. It was quite boring. "Please tell me that you are almost done sewing this outfit for tonight Roderich."

Said man looked up at him with a huff. He pushed up his glasses and rolled his violet eyes. "Gilbert you have to look your very best today. I will not allow you to meet your brother's intended looking like a slob."

"I believe that is Price Gilbert to you," He teased.

"As if. I have known you since we were children. And you are still a thorn in my side as always." He worked on getting the silver pendant with their family crest fitted onto the collar of Gilbert's new jacket.

"You're just mad that I stole your first kiss."

Roderich frowned with a tsk. "I am not mad about it now. But I was for quite a long time." The brown haired man had remembered how embarrassed he had been. He wanted his first kiss to be with his one and only love. But the girl had more of an interest in fighting than boys.

Gilbert had also remembered the kiss. He had always had a crush on the man. But he knew that he had eyes on his female friend and partner in crime. So, he wanted a kiss at the very least. He had never told Roderich that. "You got the girl of your dreams in the end though."

"Indeed. It seems that even Ludwig has found someone he wants to be with. But you are still just fooling around I assume?" He gave him a questioning glance as the put the finishing touches on the jacket cuffs.

"I may have found someone who has caught my interest. But I would not say I want to be with said person just yet. I have only known him for a week. Though we have met up each night I am unsure about him."

The violet eyed man put away his sewing supplies as he was finished with the newly tailored suit. "I am surprised you have not jumped at him yet. What is stopping you?"

Gilbert looked in the mirror. The suit was all white with gray lines following along the borders of the jacket. It was adorned with silver rose buttons and cufflinks. The top was a simple black button up with a wine red tie to go with it. He had to admit that it looked good on him.

"I do not really know what is stopping me. I know that he wants me. I mean who does not want a piece of me?" he joked slightly. "He is mysterious. I do not know all that much about him. And I feel that he is hiding something. Something big and dark."

"Do not think on it too much. You have more important matters that deserve your worry. Perhaps you just need to get to know more about him. Have you invited him to tonight's dinner?"

Gilbert nodded. "I have. I thought it only fair since Ludwig had invited his lover."

"Good. I am going to be entertaining your guests with my piano arrangements tonight. I will see what I think about him. You know how good I am at judging someone's character."

Gilbert grinned and patted Roderich's back. "Thanks! Even though you are a stuffy aristocrat I can always count on you."

The brown haired noble huffed and crossed his arms. "Still charming as ever. But yes, I will not let you down." He left the room to make sure that all of the dinner preparations were being put together.

Dinner was laid out on the large table. It was enough to feed three families, but it would only be feeding the brother's, their lovers and some of the noblemen who were very important to the success of the kingdom.

There was tortilla lasagna, stuffed paccheri, an avocado citrus salad, baked salmon filet and brown sugar bourbon glazed ham. For dessert they had laid out servings of vanilla bean panna cotta with strawberry rhubarb compote and tiramisu ice cream cake. All of this was paired only with the finest of wines. Ludwig would have to give Francis his praise later on. When he had been told by his elder brother to hire the flirty man he had his doubts. But he was an amazing chef.

Ludwig and Gilbert greeted each noble as they were let in. There nine men and five women in total. They were each seated by one the many servants. The last two to arrive were the guests of honor, Dimitri and Lovino. They royal brother's greeted the two with kisses on their hands as they lead them to their seats. Each was seated to their respective lover's left.

The servants began to get servings of each dinner item for the guests plated. Ludwig stood before the table as the guests were served their wine. "Good day my fellow people. I welcome you on this night to enjoy a lovely meal in my castle. Tonight is a night I wish to celebrate. I have found someone important to me. His name is Dimitri and he is of commoner status." Someone went to object his words, but Ludwig raised a hand to silence them. "I know that is not accepted by you nobles of MY land. So, I wish for you not to worry. An heir will be born to this kingdom. I have spoken with my lover and a noble women will be chosen to birth me a child to name the heir of the throne. But what I do with my personal life is my own choice. Any objections?"

He looked around at each face and saw no one interrupt. He knew that as long as he produced a proper heir to the throne then he would not have to worry about the nobles trying to bring down the kingdom. Now the only worries he would have would be all of the noblemen's daughters that would be thrown to him.

"Do we get an introduction of your brother's lover?" a man asked.

"Is he also a commoner?" one of the women sneered.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. Ludwig gave him a look that said to just get it done and over with. He stood up and gave a disgusted look to the noble guests. "The way you judge others disgusts me." There were gasps of shock from the guests, a chuckle from Lovino and a sigh from his brother. "But as for an introduction I guess I can do that. This sexy beast right here is my lover. His name is Lovino. He is of noble status just as the rest of you snobs. Only he does not have a stick up his high and mighty ass." He smirked and took his seat.

The guests began to complain about his foul mouth. Asking for the king to do something to punish him for speaking so rudely in their presence. He asked them all to kindly ignore his foolish behavior and to enjoy the food. He would deal with the matter later. Though they were not happy they listened to their king's words. It seemed he too did not like how his brother spoke. In reality he also did not like the way the nobles judged. But he could not speak out like his brother.

"That was very impressive," Lovino said to Gilbert. "Though I was not aware that we were lovers. I do remember saying I had no time for such things." He took a bite of the stuffed paccheri. It was very delicious.

Gilbert smirked as he took a drink of his wine. He took a finger and traced random patterns on the amber eyed man's arm. "I also remember me stating that I get whatever I want. And that what I wanted was you. By the way, for all the time you do not have . . . you are have been spending a lot of it with me."

Lovino blushed bright red. He wanted to move his arm, but he could see the nobles looking over at them. He did not want to ruin Gilbert's wonderful performance. "I am only doing such things to make you stronger."

"Yes. Physical contact with you makes me stronger. Then shall I take even more strength from you, my lover?" Before Lovino could ask what he meant he found those soft lips on his once again. He had not felt them since the very first time a week ago. His heart skipped a beat as he pressed his lips back into the kiss.

They pulled back as they heard a noble man clear their throat. Gilbert looked at them with a glare and flicked them off. "We shall continue in my chambers. That is to say if you are not scared." Pink eyes held a playful sparkle in them.

Amber eyes glared. "I am not scared! I simply do not wish for you to get attached to me!" he shouted quietly through clenched teeth. He stabbed his fork into his food. He was clearly flustered and Gilbert knew it.

"You should not worry about that Lovi. If there is anyone you should worry about it should be yourself. If anyone is going to get attached it is going to be you," the prince said. His voice perfectly calm as he talked. For he felt the words to hold true.

As Roderich played his musical pieces for the guest's entertainment he watched Gilbert and Lovino closely. He could tell that there was defiantly mysterious about the amber eyed man. But he could sense no ill intentions from the man. He sensed no evil coming from him. If anything all he saw was worry and power.

The worry he could sense from the male was purely worry for Gilbert. He could see it in the way he treated the man. He also held worry for himself. He watched as the two kissed. It was obvious that Gilbert was playing the man. Lovino seemed to know this as well, but even so he was still falling into the albino's arms easily. He honestly hoped that the prince would not end up hurting the other. For he could sense great power coming from him. And who knows what he would use that power for when faced with rejection and a broken heart. Love made you do crazy things after all.

Gilbert stood and held out his hand to his lover. Roderich could not tell what words were spoken, but he saw the brown haired man shake his head in refusal. He saw a dark grin come onto the pale face and pink eyes become red. Lovino immediately stood and took his hand.

Roderich was taken aback. Surely he had to have been seeing things. His eyes had to have been playing tricks on him. It must have been the lighting that seemed to make those pale pink eyes turn bright red. But Roderich could not get rid of the sinking feeling in his gut. The feeling that something was wrong with Gilbert.

Roderich watched as the two left the dining room. Lovino looked back as they reached the door and his eyes met with Roderich's. They held that same look of worry. There was now fear in those eyes as well as a bit of lust and pride. When the pair disappeared Roderich thought for just a moment that maybe what he saw was real.


	10. Chapter 9

Arthur and the other sorcerers sat in a circle in a dark room. They held hands as they chanted dark words together. They had been looking for the source of power that was letting the demons into their world. And thus far they were failing.

Any time they thought they had pinpointed the source it seemed to vanish. Any time they tried to get a clear vision of the person they would immediately be filled with pain. The only thing they ever got out of the vision were eyes that looked like liquid gold.

"I sense power here. It is similar to the power we have sensed from the source of the demons. But it also different," stated Lukas. His crystal eyes opened.

"Yes, I also sense this power. It is currently mixing with another power. It seems to be giving strength to someone or something," Vlad responded. His red eyes opened as well. He fixed his blonde hair.

"So we all agree that we sense power here?" Arthur asked. The other two nodded. "That is good. But I do not believe this is the power we are looking for. I do not feel any darkness within the power."

"Are we not curios though? I want to know what is happening with the power. What is happening to give birth and strength to the new power in the royal blood," Vlad stated. His fangs flashing a curious smile.

Arthur looked at him questioningly. "Royal blood? What do you mean by that?"

"You have to remember that as well as being a sorcerer I am also a vampire. I know the smell of every person I meet through their blood. This new power that you are sensing is flowing within our Prince's blood."

Arthur stood up immediately. "The power that is being fed is in Gilbert! What power could he possibly possess? He is a just a simple warrior!"

Vlad shrugged. "I do not know what powers he possesses or how he came to obtain said powers. I only know that he has gotten them quite recently."

"Instead of bickering we could just look for ourselves at what is happening," Lukas suggested with a bored expression. "We do have our crystal mirror."

Arthur huffed and sat back down in his spot. "You are right. We will just have to take a look. As the royal sorcerer I cannot overlook something like this."

The three blonde sorcerer's held their hands out in front of them as they began to chant.

"Potens potestas tenebrarum. Audite verba. Listen servire nostris iussionibus ministrare. Gratias agimus tibi tres. Quae praecipimus. Da nobis conspectu tuo. Ostende nobis, nocturnos visus aperit."

As they spoke the last of the chant for the third time a large sheet of crystal appeared before them. Inside of the crystal was the vision that they had wished to see. Gilbert was in his bedroom of the castle. He was on his bed on all fours. Under him lied a figure that they could not see.

Gilbert was surround by a white aura of light. It was almost blinding. Gilbert bent down and kissed the olive skin beneath him. As he did so the light got even brighter. The sorcerer's could sense his power get stronger in that very moment.

The prince removed his jacket and took off his shirt as well. A slim tanned hand touched his chest softly. The hand ran down the smooth and hard abdomen. The arms of the other circled the prince's waist and held him in a tight embrace.

"Your power is dazzling. I almost cannot handle it," a gentle yet rough voice was heard saying. "I wish you would stop using it on me though. I find it hard to break free from your spells."

Gilbert smirked and looked into amber eyes. "Maybe I do not wish for you to break the spell. Embrace me as I wish for you to do. I know how it is you feel and what you want. You do not have to hide with me."

The two's lip joined roughly and Gilbert's light shined so intense that the crystal shattered right before them. The shattered pieces soon disappeared.

"What in the world?" Arthur said in shock.

Meanwhile in the dining area the guests had begun the night's festivities. They all gathered round to dance. It was custom in all royal gatherings. Ludwig did not mind the tradition of dancing, but it was never anything he looked forward to. But now it was different. He actually had someone he wished to dance with.

He stood up before his lover and bowed. "May I have this dance?" he asked. His hand out to the other.

Dimitri blushed and looked down as he took the king's large hand. "I would love to. But I am afraid I do not really know how to dance well. I have always been a bit clumsy," he admitted shyly.

Ludwig gave his lover a small reassuring smile. "Do not fret. You only need to follow my lead. I will assure you that I am only average at best." He led Dimitri to the dance floor and rested a hand on his hip.

As the king began the steps Dimitri tried his very best to follow. The image of his lover's smile stuck in his mind. He rarely ever smiled. Now that he had seen him smile he wished he did it more often. It was beautiful in addition to his slicked back hair.

With his head in the clouds the shy man did not seem to be as clumsy as he had previously stated. But Ludwig could tell his lover as not all there with him. It was very cute when his boyfriend dazed out like that. But he wanted him to be focused on the moment they were sharing together. "Dimitri, just where are your thoughts leading you?"

Said man blinked and looked up at Ludwig. A pink blush spread across his features. "Ah, I am sorry. I was only thinking about how handsome your smile is."

It was Ludwig's turn to blush. People never really spoke much to him about his looks. But he got easily flustered when they did. "Thank you," he managed to stutter out.

Dimitri smiled warmly. "I only speak what is on my mind. You are strong and kind and fair. You lead this kingdom very well despite the circumstances this realm is facing. It is a wonder why someone so important and grand would want likes of me." As he spoke his movements got clumsier and he was soon tripping over his own feet.

Ludwig caught his lover as be began to fall. "Do not think so lowly of yourself. I am not as grand as you seem to think. I may be king, but deep down I am just a human like you. You are kind, handsome and humble. You may be clumsy, but you are also very helpful. I have seen how you tend to the sick, the young and the elderly in the slums. You are important as well."

The king's lover smiled. "I am glad that you think highly about me. I have never really been cared about by others. Only when I am helping them do they seem to notice me. I am easily forgotten, but I do not have to fear being left behind by you. That makes me very happy."

Roderich watched the two as he danced with his wife. She was not dressed in anything fancy and actually wore male clothing. That was because she was one of Gilbert's fighters of course. She did not feel the need to dress like a noble women.

They twirled around the dance floor alongside Ludwig and his lover. "I am so glad that he has finally found love," Elizabeta said with a dreamy sigh.

"Indeed. It is refreshing to see our king so happy and full of life for a change. I only hope it does not distract him from his duties as king."

"You know as well as I that nothing distracts that man from work," she scoffed. Roderich laughed in agreement. "Now if only Gilbert would find someone. Maybe they could whip him into shape."

"I believe he may have found someone. But it seems that neither of the two want to let their true feelings show yet. They are both stubborn as a mule."

"Leave it Gilbert to find someone probably as equally annoying as he himself." Elizabeta turned her head to look at the new couple as they danced passed the two. Her green eyes went wide. Tugging on her husband's sleeve she began to speak again. "Look! Ludwig is going to have his first kiss! How romantic," she squealed in excitement.

Roderich turned to see Ludwig cupping his lover's face. Ludwig was blushing with a concentrated expression. He wanted to make sure that this moment was absolutely perfect. It was told to him that a kiss could make or break a relationship. No one wanted to be with someone who lacked skill in that area. They would fear that they in other areas as well. And Ludwig . . . well he lacked in experience. He could only hope that he had a natural knack for physical actions.

He looked into blue eyes much like his own. It was clear that his lover was nervous. He did not know whether or not it would be a first for his lover. But he hoped that he could make it the best at the very least.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and pulled Dimitri closer by the waist. They were pressed together closely. So close it forced Dimitri to look up in order to see Ludwig. When their eyes met the king leaned in and met his lover's lips in a gentle kiss.

Elizabeta squealed. The moment she had witnessed between the men was truly beautiful. She wanted to engrave it into her mind. Never before had she seen such a beautiful seen of love. Not even with her own husband. He was too stubborn and high class for such things.

She was perfectly fine with the way her husband did things though. It made it extra special when he decided to do something romantic for her. Her favorite times where when he would make a song just for her.

"I am happy that he has found someone. I feel like I no longer need to watch over him now," Roderich said quietly. A gentle smile was placed on his lips.

"Yes. It seems our little king is all grown up now. He no longer needs us. It saddens me a bit. The child left in our care is finally a man. Well, at least he almost is," she said with a laugh at the end.

Roderich scoffed slightly. "Come one now. Do not be so vulgar. I do not think that either of them are even ready for that yet. They both seem rather shy."

"That is true. But I am sure that it will make for a lasting relationship. So, in the end all will be well between them."

The two joined in with the dancing once again just as Ludwig and Dimitri did. The night was coming to a close as the moon rose higher into the sky. When the moon reached high in the sky the dancing had finally ended.

Many of the nobles decided it was time to take their leave. Ludwig and the royal guards escorted each noble to their proper carriages. Each one adorned with the crest of their family. He wished them safety on their travel home. Thankfully the noble village was not too far away by carriage.

Other nobles whom had come from farther away were offered a room to sleep in for the night. Long journeys were not recommended at the latest hours of the night. All of the nobles had accepted the king's kind offer. They were sent to guest rooms by the servants. But just as everyone was getting ready to sleep a scream echoed from within the castle.


	11. Chapter 10

Gilbert kissed down his lovers tanned body. He writhed beneath him with every touch. Slender fingers grasped at the sheets. Pale lips met a smooth chest. A pink tongue poked at hardened nipples. He swirled his tongue around his lover's nipples teasingly. He heard the man whine in response. He was tired of being teased.

Lovino's hand reached up to tangle into messy white hair. He tugged roughly causing the other to growl. His red eyes flashing down at him. "Move on with it already," Lovino said in response to the growl.

Gilbert grabbed the small wrists and pinned the other to the bed. "Who ever said that I wanted to fuck you yet? I have not even had a proper taste on you." He licked the other's neck and sucked on it thoroughly. Leaving behind a purple kiss mark. When the small body beneath him began to struggle he bit his shoulder roughly. The man screamed out slightly in pain. His eyes tearing up a bit.

"Bastard! That fucking hurt!" Lovino hissed out. His shoulder felt like it was bleeding. He tried to see if that was so but found no blood. Just deep teeth marks.

"Do not struggle and I will not have to hurt you. There is no use fighting me. You want this just as much as me. This right here is proof enough," Gilbert said as he cupped the man's hard member through the cloth hiding it from view.

Lovino blushed as red as a tomato. He did not argue with the man above him. There was no way to hide his throbbing member and he was practically ready to beg for release. Gilbert had been teasing him for far too long.

Gilbert smirked at the man's blush. It was honestly so adorable. He rubbed his cheek with his thumb. "So very cute," he mumbled. Leaning down and capturing the other's lips in a soft kiss. But it seemed that Lovino was not having that. He immediately deepened the kiss and made it rougher.

The albino man did not complain. In fact he loved it. He kissed back hard and forced his tongue into the brown haired man's mouth. They each fought for dominance, but that did not last long. For when pale hand worked their magic on the other's nipples he had him moaning into the kiss.

Lovino wrapped his arms around the prince and grinded against him. Just wanting to feel some friction. His back arching off the bed. Gilbert grinded into him just as hard. Their bodies rocking against one another as their tongues danced in each other's mouths.

Gilbert was the first to pull away for air. His lungs feeling like they were on fire. He panted quietly. He quickly stripped Lovino of the remainder of his clothes. Amber eyes widened as he tried to cover himself. But he was stopped before he could. He evaded his eyes as Gilbert admired his naked body fully.

He looked at the throbbing, hard member before him. A pink tongue wetted pale lips in anticipation. He took the member to his mouth and licked the slit gently. Lovino covered his mouth instantly to hold back his gasp of both surprise and pleasure. He licked up the side of the member and swirled his tongue around.

Lovino whimpered. It felt good, but he was being teased once again. It seemed that Gilbert liked to play with his lover's before fucking them. His hips jerked up as a kiss was placed to his tip. Gilbert then took his hips and held them down with crushing force. It was painful, but Lovino tried to ignore it.

The white haired man finally took the member into his mouth and his lover could not help but to let a small moan leave his mouth. It felt amazing to have his member inside the hot and wet cavern. He almost came right then and there, but he held back.

He bobbed his head slowly. Taking in more and more of the member. He groaned softly as fingers tangled into his hair and pulled lightly. The slight vibrations caused Lovino to push down on the albino's head and take even more of him.

Gilbert's heart pounded in his chest. He felt so amazing. So excited. When he felt himself being forced to take more his heart sped up even more and he moaned. Oddly liking the feeling of being ordered around. He let Lovino take charge. His own member throbbing from being neglected.

As Lovino guided the white haired man to move to the speed he wanted he pushed into his mouth as far as he could. Soon he was having the man deep throat him. Gilbert felt as if he was choking. He gagged but Lovino did not stop. He pounded at the back of his throat his little mercy.

Though he felt like passing out from the lack of air he still felt amazing. His member grew even harder and he squirmed in place. He began to rub his member through his clothing.

Lovino panted as he watched. He could not believe that the man before him was getting turned on by sucking him off. He almost wanted to laugh. But he did not do so. Instead he felt himself growing closer to his release. Without any warning at all he shot all of his seed into the other's mouth. He pulled back just in time for the last of it to splash onto the man's face. He smirked at his handy work.

Gilbert gasped for air as he swallowed the last of the hot cum. He was a panting mess. Still rubbing at his member. Lovino helped the man strip out his remaining clothes. When his member was finally free amber eyes went wide. Gilbert was huge! There was no way that thing was fitting inside of him. It would break him in two!

He backed away slowly. Slightly fearing for his life. Even with preparation it was going to be painful putting that thing into his body. When Gilbert saw the other begin to retreat he pounced on him.

He rubbed his member against the others. Both moaned at the skin on skin friction. He continued to grind into each other until Gilbert came from pent up urges. He got his fingers wet with some special lotion he had gotten from Francis. When they were thoroughly wet he prodded at his lover's tight hole. Inserting the first finger was easy. Though Lovino felt it was highly uncomfortable.

When the second finger was inserted he began to feel a bit of pain. But it was not too bad. So, he just tried to ignore it. Gilbert began to scissor him and he whimpered slightly. He kissed his temple softly. "Just a little bit more," he told him softly.

Lovino nodded and a third finger was inserted. It began to hurt even more. It continued to hurt until he hit a spot that shot fireworks throughout his entire body. "There. Please," he cried out. Gilbert nodded and hit the spot again. Rubbing at it as well. It had his lover writhing and moaning in pleasure.

When he finally pulled his finger out Lovino whined. Gilbert laughed softly. "I am going to be putting in something even bigger now. Are you ready?" he asked his lover.

Lovino gulped in fear of the pain that he knew was coming. He took a deep breath and nodded his head. "I . . . I guess," he said quietly.

Gilbert grabbed the man's hips and positioned his member at the entrance. It twitched with anticipation. He began to push in slowly. When his tip made it in Lovino was already beginning to cry in pain. Gilbert kept on moving slow but he was very impatient. He ended up just slamming all the way into him. The noble man let out a loud scream of pain.

Tears streamed down his face and Gilbert immediately was filled with guilt. He leaned down to his lover. Wiping at the tears. "I am so, so sorry. I did not mean to do that. I was got too excited. Just . . . tell me when you are ready to move," he apologized.

Lovino whimpered and kissed his lover back gently. He was not mad at him for causing him so much pain. He was only hurt and a bit afraid. He waited until his body adjusted to the size of the massive intruder. When he felt that it would be okay he gave the albino his signal to move.

The red eyed man kept a slow and gentle pace. He did not want to cause any more pain than necessary. It hurt for a little while and Lovino let out small whimpers here and there. But soon it started to feel good.

He pulled at the white hair and moaned softly. "More," he breathed out. He gave a smirk as he gave the slender man beneath him just what he asked. He increased his pace and went a bit harder. Lifting the man's hips to get a better angle.

Small hands pulled at white hair harder. They tangled and soon left to grip his shoulders. His nails dug into pale flesh. Gilbert growled out and put even more force into his thrusts. Leaning in he bit the tanned neck.

Lovino was finding it harder and harder to keep his moans quiet in volume. He was not holding them back for all he cared about was the pleasure he was receiving. Gilbert himself was finding it hard to hold himself back as well.

He was getting faster, but it also made his movements sloppier. Neither of them seemed to care though. They were surround in an aura of complete bliss. Overwhelmed by their lust for one another.

Lovino clawed down the prince's back to the point that the marks began to bleed. He only found that the pain was an extreme turn on. He absolutely loved it. He even asked for more of it.

Lovino happily obliged. He bit at the man's shoulder and clawed his arms and his back. He left marks anywhere that he could while he moaned out in ecstasy.

It got even more pleasurable for the two when Gilbert finally began to hit Lovino's sweet spot. The spot that made the man see stars. He moaned out his name loudly. The albino blushed at that moment, but he did not let the slight embarrassment get to him. He kept riding it out until he could feel the warmth of his orgasm building. Lovino could feel it as well.

"I think I am going to-" Lovino began to say.

"Me too," Gilbert interrupted.

With a couple more thrusts they both finished off. Moaning loudly into each other's mouths. When they were finished they pulled away from one another to catch their breath. They were hot and sticky with both sweat and cum.

Lovino looked at the ceiling. Still panting as he came down from his high. "That was amazing. I have never felt so good."

Gilbert turned and looked over at him. "Never? So, then I was the best you have ever had?" he asked. It made him feel pretty confident in himself and his abilities. Not that he ever doubted himself to begin with.

Lovino began to blush. His heart stopping just for a moment. He had forgot to mention it to the pale man. "Actually, you were my first," he said just above a whisper.

Gilbert's eyes went wide. He felt himself begin to blush as well. He had not been expecting that. Usually virgins were always shy and made getting to the sex very slow. He was practically begging for it. "Oh. Well, I am glad to have been your first," he responded quietly. In his mind he silently hoped that he would also be his last. Though he had no plans to fall for anyone he felt that it had happened anyways. He had fallen in love with the man beside him.


	12. Chapter 11

When Gilbert woke up the following day he felt amazing. He could feel the power flowing through his veins. Getting up and stretching he turned to look at his lover. The only thing to be found was small black feather. He sighed a bit as his ran his hands through his hair. His eyes narrowed as he felt two small bumps on his head.

"I must have hit my head at some point last night," he thought to himself. Thinking nothing more on the subject he began to get ready for his day. It was odd to be in the castle. He rarely played the role of prince.

When he was finished getting dressed in the clothes set out for him by the servants he was joined by Elizabeta. Her eyes scanned him up and down. He work a gray ruffled button up shirt with black pants and a black jacket. He also wore a purple gray cape. It was held onto him with a silver chain with silver iron crosses on the ends. "Well you are looking quite dashing," she teased.

Gilbert blushed but could not help but to smirk. "I can say that this outfit suits me quite well. Your husband knows how to make such noble clothes in my style."

"Of course he can. He has known you for years. Longer than even your brother has known you."

Gilbert smiled as he began to put on his knee high boots. There were so many straps on them, but they were his favorite pair. "I am glad that I do not have to wear the glitzy and glamorous outfits other's wear. Too many jewels for me"

"I am sure that you would look good even in those. But to change the subject on you . . . how was last night? You and your lover disappeared on us quite early last night." She gave him a knowing look.

He blushed and fixed his already perfect cape. "It was better than I thought it could ever be. My heart feels complete," he said quietly. Deep down inside he was actually very sad. It was impossible for him to have a lasting love. He vowed he would never fall in love because someday he would just disappear.

He did not want to hurt someone like that. He himself also did not want to feel the heartbreak. That was not something he could tell anyone though. No one would understand what he meant. Turning away and closing his eyes he told himself to get it together. He could not fall apart in front of anyone.

Elizabeta grinned. She cheered and gave him a hug from behind. "I knew you find someone eventually. You cannot just live your life as a playboy. I do not want you to end up like that flirtatious blonde friend of yours." She crossed her arms and huffed. She had never liked Francis.

Gilbert raised his eyebrow. "Are you still angry about that night? He has apologized you know. I am pretty sure he over Roderich by now. Why he was even interested in the snooty man I will never know."

They walked out of Gilbert's room in the castle. Walking down the halls they were pretty silent for a moment. He knew his last comment probably pissed her off. But he was not about to apologize. He was far too awesome for that.

"So, what is it that you have to do today? I am assuming you have royal duties since you are not in your holy garments," Elizabeta asked once she had cooled her head.

"I just have to help settle some territory disputes. New settlers are trying to use land that belongs to our people. As you know all land disputes are my job since I am the leader of army. Then, after that is settle I have to get my battle strategies together for the extermination of the creatures of hell. I am going to be sending out my troops to all surrounding areas and our villages."

"You have a bust day ahead of you. So, I will take my leave. Have a good day." She bowed respectively and left to visit her husband in their living quarters.

Gilbert bowed to her as well before continuing down the halls. Soon he made it into the royal court room. This is where any and all disputes were handled. Ludwig was already in his seat which was to prince's left. He went and sat next to his brother.

"Hello, my brother. How is your morning fairing?" Ludwig asked politely. He was always so proper. It sometimes put Gilbert on edge.

"I am doing fine. It has been a long time since I have had any disputes to settle. Too bad they are not criminals. I miss the feeling of punishing someone."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. He knew that his elder brother was joking. Well, he was at least half way joking. His brother was not that cruel. "Brother criminal charges are not your place to judge. That goes to me and Kiku."

The prince stuck his tongue out. He knew the only time he could punish the wicked was on the battlefield, but he would gladly accept that. It was a job he put great pride in.

Soon the leader of the settlers came along with his own advisors. They took their place at the defendant podium. It was very obvious that they were not of any noble status. It was also clear that they were not of any kingdom. They were most likely living off the unclaimed lands that the surrounding kingdoms had no interest in.

"Good day and welcome to the kingdom of Lothiadric. By looking at your clothing I know that you are not from our kingdom. Nor are you from the neighboring kingdoms of Boennor, Braeth or Acalenia. Therefor you do not have access to do with our land anything you wish," Gilbert stated as the men stood before him.

"Your highness, with all due respect, I do not believe that the land we are building on is that important. It is not being used by your people. It is just forest. We cannot go back to the area we were living in before. It has been overrun by demons," the leader responded. He made his case perfectly clear.

The albino sat up a bit straighter. He was glad that these settlers treated him with respect. Most did not do so because of his looks. In this era of time people did not know the concept of albinos. They were thought to be demons. But that did not change his ruling. He had to obtain the laws of the kingdom.

"While I do understand where you are coming from I must tell you that you are incorrect. The forest that you and your people are building on is our people's hunting ground. Where do you think we get our meat from? We hunt for it. Especially those in the slums. They use that land to hunt food for themselves since they cannot afford to buy meat that has already been prepared. We cannot allow you to settle in the forest."

His advisor whispered in the leader's ear. Whatever was being said was not what the leader wanted to hear. But he also did not want to have to fight for the land. They were not a very large group of settlers. "What do you propose we do then? We cannot simply just go looking for a new place to settle. The demons are growing large in numbers."

"The solution is quite simple. You can become citizens of our kingdom. You may only live in the slums. If you wish some of you may work as servants within the castle. But in order to become citizens you must vow your undying loyalty to the king. All men of age can be called upon to fight in our army. Women are allowed to volunteer to fight if they have the skills to do so."

The leader and his advisors spoke about the offer silently. Gilbert knew what they would choose to do. After all, they only had two options. Become a citizen or find a new home or die trying. The men looked up to him. "We will pledge our undying loyalty to the kingdom of Lothiadric. I will tell all of my people about this agreement," the leader spoke.

Kiku wrote up the proper documents and they were signed by all those present in the court. The pledge was now legal. They now belonged to the kingdom. But they would surely be safer in the kingdom then out in the wild.

"Great job as usual," Ludwig said as the court room was emptied. "I am glad you take your work seriously. Though it is about the only thing you ever take seriously."

Gilbert laughed a bit. "You could learn from me little brother. Life does not have to be so serious. Work is important. But it also important to have fun once in a while. I am sure your lover will soon teach you that when our troubles are gone." He patted his brother on the back.

"I know brother. You have been telling me for years. I promise that when the demons are taken care of I will try to relax a bit. It is true that I want to be able to live my life with my lover. But right now none of this is your concern. You should get to your next meeting."

Gilbert nodded and went off to his next meeting. He was glad that his brother was taking his words seriously. He wanted his brother to experience life outside of being a king. Because he was more than that. He was also just becoming an adult. He was only eighteen after all. Though in this realm you were considered a man at the ripe age of fourteen. A girl became a woman at 15. Gilbert did not believe that though.

Walking into the next meeting he found the three sorcerers sitting around a round table. He took the only available seat.

"Good day, Gilbert," Arthur said. He was a gentleman as always. Lukas only bowed his head and Vlad only stared at him with his blood red eyes.

"Good day, Arthur," he responded. He bowed to the other two sorcerers. "As you three know the creatures of hell are getting a little out of control. Settlers have informed me they have taken over the unclaimed land. I am sure that the other kingdoms are also dealing with random attacks just as we are."

Lukas nodded his head. "Yes. We have been pinpointing every attack we have heard of or witnessed. There have been attacks in all of the surrounding kingdoms. We have gotten word from the kingdom of Acalenia that the king wishes to join forces with you in the upcoming battle. We have yet to get word from Braeth. And as we know from all previous battles the Boennor army will only fight what comes onto their territory. So, they will not be joining us, but they will kill any demons who wander into their kingdom."

Gilbert grinned. "It will be great to work with King Abel once again. His army is very strong and they have some of the best weapons available. That will be of great help."

"It is settled then. We will give word to King Abel that you have accepted his offer for help. I am sure that he will be quite pleased to hear that," Arthur stated.

"While that is all being prepared what are your plans for your troops?" Lukas asked.

Gilbert pulled out a map of the kingdoms from a drawer and laid it out. He pointed to each area he spoke of. "Well, I will send small reinforcements to the noble village and to the slums. Larger groups of my men will be sent out into the wilderness. We shall also patrol the borders of our land." With all the plans set Gilbert began to feel more confident in winning the war.


	13. Chapter 12

Two weeks had gone by and Gilbert had returned to his duties at the temple long ago. He was back to helping out the unfortunate and killing off demons with his men. He was back in his holy robes.

In the very long two weeks he had not seen the children. He had not seen them since he had told them not to come back if they could not accept the fact that they could die. It seemed that they were not ready to accept that. But he fine with that. He knew that as soon as they were ready they would come back.

Gilbert was in the temple's study reading as he heard someone enter. It was not anyone he was expecting it to be. For it was no one from his order of monks. It was King Abel. He stood immediately and bowed. "King Abel, how surprising to see you here."

Abel raised an eyebrow slightly. His expression held no emotion as usual. He was always a hard man to read. "You do not have to act so formally with me Gilbert. I know that you are a holy man, but you are a prince as well."

The prince laughed softly. "You know that many do not accept me being the prince. They do not accept me living let alone ruling over them. That is why I do not have many royal responsibilities." Though he had laughed the subject hurt him. He did not like that many in the kingdom hated him. And those who seemed to like him only liked him for his rare appearance, money or swordsmanship.

"It does not matter whether or not they accept you. You are a far better man then any of them will ever be. You are of royalty. You are a man close to the Gods and Goddesses. You have the highest level of skill when it comes to swordsman ship. And though many do not wish to accept it you are fairly attractive."

Gilbert blushed brightly. He was a cocky man himself, but hearing compliments from people other than himself always seemed to fluster him. "Yes. I am awesome. But I do not believe you came all this way to compliment me."

Abel nodded as he took a seat. His short blonde hair was spiked slightly. "You are right. I came here to discuss battle plans. I want all of our best warriors to fight in the war. I only want the best to be involved. I do not wish for average fighters to be involved in a war this dangerous."

Gilbert sat back down and thought the king's words over. "That seems fairly reasonable. That does not leave me with many fighters though. Besides myself, my most skilled warriors are Elizabeta and Sadiq. I do have a few new recruits who are also very skilled. But they have yet to return to their training. Of course Arthur will be helping as well. We also have yours and King Berwald's sorcerers to help."

"I know that you have other highly skilled warriors that you have not named. Will they also join?"

"Yes, but there are only nine others. They do not fight often, but I am sure they will fight when I tell them of our plan."

"And you say that you have some children trained as well? Are they truly skilled? I doubt they are as good as you."

Gilbert smirked proudly. "Hell yeah they are not! No one is as good as the awesome me. But they are better than many of my average soldiers."

Abel seemed to be contemplating something. He did not speak for a while. "If these children come back I would like them to join us. That is . . . if they are ready. If they have any doubts then they should not be fighting at all."

"That is very true. That is actually the reason why they have not been training lately. I had told them if they were not ready to die then they should not come back to practice. It seems they are still not ready to accept the fate of a warrior."

Abel nodded silently. He was not really someone of many words. Gilbert asked one of the monks to get the two of them something to drink. Though he was in the mood for alcohol he could not drink much while at the temple.

The monk came back with some coffee and pastries. The High Priest thanked the monk and offered the food and beverage to his guest. He accepted graciously.

Again they sat in silence. It was not uncomfortable silence. They were just enjoying the company and thinking to themselves. They spent a lot of time in silence whenever they met up.

After Gilbert had finished his coffee he decided to speak. "Have you spoken any to Antonio since he left?" he asked. He knew that the topic was a fragile one. So, he kept his voice calm and quiet as he asked.

Abel visibly tensed up. "I have not. I doubt that he would even wish to speak with me. I know how much I had hurt him. I know how much he lost because of me." He looked into his empty cup. His hands holding it tightly.

"He was very hurt. But I think he has moved on. It has been years. How many years has it been exactly? Nine years now? You two used to be best friends."

Abel sighed. "None of that matters anymore. He has you as a friend now. I am grateful that he has such a good friend. But he and I have moved on. I would rather not bring up old tragedies."

Though he wanted the two to at least reconcile now that he was finally here in his kingdom he knew better than to push it. It really was not his place after all. He may know the story, but it was far beyond his time of knowing Antonio.

After a few more moments of silence Abel excused himself. Telling Gilbert that he would speak to him again soon. With that he was gone. He huffed a bit. But he knew that it was best to forget it all. He had much more important matters to worry about.

Gilbert soon left his temple. He decided it would do him some good to train a bit himself. He was so preoccupied with his work that he had not been keeping up with his training. I was important for warriors to keep up with physical exercising.

When he got into some clothes more suited for fighting he went to the training grounds. The very first thing he did was stretch. He had to make sure all of his muscles were thoroughly stretched out and ready for a long period of physical activity.

When he was all stretched out he began his exercise by running. He only ran around the field. It was exhausting and he knew that he was starting to get a bit out of shape. Even so he was able to run five miles without stopping. It was not his best but it was good enough.

After that he began to do simple things like pushups and sit-ups. He did about forty of each before he felt his body start to feel like it was at its limit. He made a mental note to get more exercise into his everyday life. He could not allow for himself to get weak. It was not the time for that. He was not back at home where he had nothing to worry about.

He took a drink of some water he had brought with him as he took a short breather. Only allowing himself two minutes to rest. He began to go to the edge of the forest. There were a bunch of ropes tied along the trees. Some were high and some low. Some even crossed over others. This area was for warriors to test their agility and flexibility. The goal was to get from one side to the other as fast as you could with other hitting any of the ropes.

Gilbert had not always been good at doing these exercises, but with a lot of hard work and constant practice he had gotten better. He began so dive, roll and dip between the ropes. It took him a good five minutes to get through all of it. But he had not touched any of the ropes.

When that was done he finally went on to the act of balance. That was also important for any warrior. Across the field there were sets of poles everywhere. One had to run and jump onto all of them. The goal was to go as fast as you could without falling or losing your footing. This was a task that Gilbert completed quickly and easily. His balance was still as perfect as ever.

He was glad for that at the very least. He would have to make sure to improve everything else. But that would be easy for him. He would just have to find the time to do so. As long as he did not have any royal duties to attend to he could get back on track within a week at the very least.

With his training said and done for the day Gilbert went back to his temple. He cleaned himself from the sweat that came of practicing so long. Then, he got back into his holy robes. As he sat on his bed he began to think of Abel and Antonio again. With Antonio in his thoughts he thought maybe it would be a good night to go to the tavern and see his dear friends. It had been awhile since he had seen them after all.

He grinned and went to the stables to get his horse. Riding off to the slums. When he arrived at their tavern he found his two friends at their usual table. He smiled and walked over to them. Hollering at the bartender for a mug of ale. "Antonio. Francis, I have not seen you two in forever," he said as he took a seat. The bartender set down the ale.

Antonio grinned. "Gilbert! We had missed you. We were wondering when you were going to show your face around here."

"Indeed," said Francis. "We were beginning to think that you had forgotten about us." He frowned, but Gilbert could tell that it was all an act.

He rolled his red eyes. "You know I would never forget about you two. You guys are my best friends. I just had a lot of work to do. I was actually doing some of my royal duties for a change." He took a drink of his ale. The frothy smoothness of him soothed his soul. It burned at his core just the way he liked it.

"Yes, we know that. Francis is just being dramatic as always. I am surprised that you were doing actual royal duties. You are not needed in the castle much. Since almost everyone does not accept you being there." The tanned man took a drink of his ale with a slight frown. He always hated that Gilbert was frowned upon just because of his appearance. Only those who were close to him ever treated him with kindness and respect. He was sure that if it were not for Gilbert's skills with a sword that even his men would disregard them.

The prince sighed. He had always hated when the subject of his looks were brought up. The subject of how people looked down on him because of it. Francis kicked Antonio under the table. Giving the man a small but noticeable glare.

"I really hate that. I wish that the people who chose to look down on me would at least get to know me first. I am just a man with feelings and a beating heart just like them. One day . . . I really hope I can make them see that."


	14. Chapter 13

Leopold and Marcello sat underneath an Oaktree in the forest. Their breathing was labored and their clothing tattered. Leopold looked up at the grey, cloudy sky that was threatening the world with rain. Blood trickled down his face. "Marcello, are we going to make it in this war?"

Marcello looked down at the boy beside him. The boy that he saw as the most precious thing in his life. He held a hand over his side to stop his wounded from gushing out blood. "I am not sure Leo. All we can do is continue to fight."

He grabbed onto his lover's hand as another group of demons began to surround them. The white haired boy gave him a weak smile. They stood side by side and readied themselves for death as they readied their weapons.

The demons charged right at the two. They stood defensively and blocked the first few attacks. But they were already growing weak. They were unable to last much longer than that. It was not long before they collapsed.

Gilbert walked to the training grounds calmly. He had gotten word from one of his fellow monks that the children had finally returned. He was glad that they had returned to him. But after the dream he had about Leopold and Marcello he did fear for them. He had hoped that a dream was all that it was.

Sadly Gilbert had been mistaken. When he had gotten to the field he saw that Leopold and Marcello looked as bad as they did in his dream. Wendy and Erland were holding them up and keeping them conscious. Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Peter? Is he not with you?" he asked the children.

Wendy looked up at him. "He went to go get our brother so that he can heal these two," she replied.

He went over to help with their wounds temporarily. "What happened to these two?"

"They were attacked by a horde of demons in the forest. It is a good thing that we found them. We had all planned to meet up today at the church in the noble village to head back here. But they never showed up. Luckily Peter knew that the two had ben sneaking off into the forest quite often. When we got there they were surrounded," Erland explained.

It was not long before Arthur and Peter showed up. Arthur did not speak as he went straight over to the children. He immediately went to work. The two boys had long since passed out. It made working on them a lot easier. He chanted quietly as he healed them with light. It took a long time, but thankfully those around him were smart enough to stay silent.

When he was finished he took a deep breath and stood. "It is a good thing you got me when you did. Though Leopold would have eventually healed Marcello probably would have died. His wounds were very serious. That gash on his side tore at his insides. Though I have healed them to the best of my ability Marcello is going to need to rest for a while," he stated.

Gilbert nodded. "Thank you for your help Arthur. I will make sure that Marcello is taken care of. He will stay at the castle and rest. He will be safe and cared for there."

"It was no problem. Are they back for training?"

"They are. And it seems I will have to push them harder. As well as get them proper weapons and armor as well."

"That would be in everyone's best interest." The blonde man looked over at his younger siblings. "Please train your hardest. We Kirkland's must live up to our status of being the best at what we do." With that said he left them all to get back to his job as a royal sorcerer.

Gilbert looked over at the children. "Tomorrow we will take a trip to see Sadiq. He is the royal blacksmith. He will make all of you personalized weapons. I would like you all to train here a bit for now. I will be taking Marcello to the castle. Leopold should be waking shortly. I would like you all to accompany him home when that happens. Wendy, I leave you in charge for now."

Wendy bowed to her teacher and prince. "I will keep everything in order while you are gone. Please stay safe."

Gilbert left on his long walk to the castle. He would have ridden his horse, but it would be hard with an unconscious body with him. So, he just carried the boy as he made his journey. All in all it took him forty minutes to get to the castle. The guards gave him a weird look, but they let him pass. He immediately took him to his bedroom. He tucked him into bed and made sure that he was at the very least in a comfortable position.

After he made sure Marcello was laid down to rest he went down to his brother's office. His brother was in there reading through files as usual. He had really thought that since his brother had a lover now things would be different. But that seemed to not be the case.

"Brother, how nice it is for you to visit," Ludwig said. Looking up from his papers for only a short moment.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Still a bore as always I see. You should be doing something fun with your lover. He will grow bored of you if all you do is work."

Ludwig huffed and put his papers down. "Who is to say that I do not do things with Dimitri? Besides, what I do is not any of your business."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. But I did not come here to talk about you and your lover. I actually came to let you know that one of my recruits will be staying in my room here for the week. He will need to be cared for."

Ludwig frowned. "What happened?"

"He and another one of them were attacked in the forest from what I was told. His injury was bad enough to kill him, but Arthur healed him. But he advised me to have the boy rest. So, I brought him here where I knew he would be safe and accounted for."

Ludwig ran a hand through his hair. "I will make sure that Elizabeta gives him the best care. Is there anything else I can do?"

Gilbert smiled softly. "Thank you brother. And yes, there actually is something you can do. Would you give word to Sadiq that the children and I will be visiting him tomorrow? The children need proper weapons and such."

The blonde smiled as well. "I will let Sadiq know to be prepared for your visit. You should get back to the children now."

Gilbert bowed slightly before taking his leave. He was a bit nervous about the children fighting now that Marcello and Leopold had been attacked. But he knew that they were the best chance he and King Abel had to defeat the army of demons.

After the long journey back to the training grounds the albino man was tired. But he had to stay and train the children. When he got there he saw that Leopold was no longer there, but the rest of the children were engaging in a battle. It seemed that Peter and Wendy were teamed up against Erland. They all held no weapons. They must be doing hand on hand combat. It was what Erland excelled in after all. As Gilbert watched he could see that he had improved a lot since he had last scene him fight against Sadiq.

His movements were not as rough and he had definitely gotten stronger. Peter's attacks no longer sent him falling to the ground. He no longer stumbled. But he was still not ready to defeat someone like Sadiq.

Wendy was not bad at hand on hand at all. But she had not improved from last time. She had probably already reached her limit in that area. She was much better with a sword.

Peter had gotten more fluid and his jumps and dodges were amazing. But his strength had not improved. If it had then he would surely be able to send Erland to the ground like before.

Gilbert analyzed them throughout the whole battle. In his mind he came up with new training programs for each of them. He saw were their limits lied and were improvements could be made. He would sculpt them into perfect warriors.

The next day all of the children, except for Marcello, took a trip to the royal blacksmith's shop. It was not too large of a shop, but it was not small either. On the wall hung many weapons that were already made and were waiting to be sold. None of that however was for the children.

Gilbert walked over to Sadiq. "Hello! I have brought the children just as you had requested before!" he yelled happily.

Sadiq grinned. "I am glad you came to your senses about bringing them to me. I know you did not really want them fighting in this war."

"Well, they seem to have accepted their fate," he said quietly now. "They are ready now. You have seen them fight. So, I have no doubt that you know what weapons they will fight best with."

"I do. I also will make sure that they have the best amour available." He turned and looked at the small group of children. "Alright, I will have to measure you guys to make sure I make the armor to fit."

The children nodded and he left the room to go in the back. He grabbed some measuring tape and went straight to work. It did not take long to measure them. When he was finished he wrote down all the numbers onto a blank sheet of paper.

"Okay. Now that that is all taken care of let us talk about weapons for all of you."

"I want a really cool and big sword! The best sword! Filled with magic!" shouted Peter excitedly. He was practically flying with how much he was jumping around.

"I only need my weapon to be light and beautiful. I want my weapon to be a piece of art," Leopold said calmly.

"Make my sword even bigger than Peter's! With cool fire magic!" Erland exclaimed.

Wendy did not seem to have any request. She just rolled her eyes at how silly and immature the boys were being. It was quite aggravating to be around such idiots all the time.

Sadiq narrowed his eyes. "Shut up. You will get the weapons that I give you. Do not act like children. You are to be warriors. So, take this seriously." The boys looked down and muttered quiet apologies.

With a huff Sadiq went on. "Peter, your main weapon will be a short sword with dragons around the blade and hand. On the end of the handle will be a crystal ball. It will hold very limited magic. Though it may seem odd your secondary weapon will be a bow and arrow. With your amazingly inhumanly high jumps you could make some very good aerial attacks."

"Leopold you will have a spear. I believe it will work well with all the grace you have. Your secondary weapon will be throwing knives. Make sure to collect them as you will have a limited supply"

"Erland your main weapons are actually going to be gauntlets since you fight best hand on hand. They will have claws to dig into your enemy. You will have a dagger as a secondary weapon."

"Wendy you will have a short sword like your brother. It will hold no magic, but it will have detachable throwing knives much like playing cards in shape. It will only come with two so just like Leopold you will have to collect them. Your secondary weapon will be a larger sized sledge hammer."

The kids listened with so much excitement in their eyes. They could not wait for their weapons to be made. Even more so then that . . . they could not wait to use them for the very first time.


	15. Chapter 14

When the weapons were finally made days later the children came to the training grounds bearing them proudly. They were also dressed in their new armor. They looked like true warriors. It was time to test them to the max.

"You have made it far. But have you made it far enough? That is what you should all be asking yourselves. Today you will get that answer. Today we will be going to the outskirts of our kingdom. My men have been fighting the endless raid of demons there for quite a long time. Today we will join them in the fight and test your skills. You do not have to go, but if you choose not to go you will be resigning from ever becoming a warrior."

Gilbert looked into the eyes of each of his students. They all looked calm and ready to go. Even Marcello who had just gotten permission to leave the castle. He proudly held a long sword and a dagger.

"Then, we shall be on our way. You may die in this battle. But if you die it will be as a hero. Your death will not be for nothing. Always remember a warrior's fate."

He led the children to the stables and each of them was given a horse. They made sure that the horses were ready to go and they rode out to the outskirts. The land was very far from any of the buildings in the kingdom. It was an hour long journey by horse. And when they finally arrived the fighting was already in progress. The fighting could be heard from far off in the distance.

"Okay. We leave the horses here at the rest site. When we get to the frontlines you will all be fighting not only for yourselves and your fellow warriors. You will be fighting for your people."

The prince led them to the frontline and all around them was chaos. They were immediately thrown into battle, but they were well prepared. Marcello and Leopold teamed up right away. They fought side by side.

There were no trees for the white haired boy to run up, but the long pole of his spear allowed him to volt and even spin himself around it to kick his opponents away. Whenever he would volt himself into the air he would throw his throwing knives to precisely hit vital points.

Though Marcello's main weapon was his long sword he seemed to favor his dagger. He liked to make all of attacks up close and personal. It was much easier for him to hit each demons vital point with his dagger. Whenever he would find himself surrounded he would use his long sword to slash away the many bodies.

Peter was blowing away the demons with ease. He used the magic to stun his opponents with lightning. Then, he would slice across their necks. He too had his own way to rid of demons when he was surrounded. He would jump high and ready his bow. Shooting multiple arrows at once. He almost always hit his target.

Wendy was mostly using her large sledge hammer. It was a very heavy weapon, but she swung it around with ease. Bashing in the skulls of the demons. She would swing so hard the heads would fly off their bodies.

Erland found that he absolutely loved his gauntlets. He could easily use the claws to rip the bodies of his enemies to shreds. He could rip open his opponent's stomach and rip out the insides. It was thrilling to be able to actually be able to win in a fight for once.

Gilbert of course was fighting with his beloved long sword. He loved to slice the bodies. And when he combined the sword with his new abilities it gave an even better effect. He sent out his blades of light to slice apart enemies both near and far. He had also gotten a new ability recently. Sending out white flames he could get the demons that the flames touched to attack their own kind.

The warriors who had been fighting before they had arrived watched them slightly with awe. It was amazing to see how skilled their leader's new recruits were. They were thankful for their strength. It was certainly a huge help.

The demons were dying off in large numbers soon enough. Though there were probably around 1,000 demons when they had arrived it dwindled down to just 150 demons after only two hours. There was a loud wailing sound and all the demons looked up at the sky. They immediately began to retreat.

The children began to go after them, but Gilbert held out his hand. "Let them retreat. This battle is over for now. But they will be back. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow. The numbers will only get bigger. But for now let us celebrate this victory!" he yelled out to all of his men.

All around cheers could be heard. The children, though worn out, gathered round and hugged. Goofy grins were on each of their faces. "We did it!" Peter shouted. He was so very happy to have helped his fellow warriors out.

"We did," Wendy said with a smile. "But it is not over yet. Let us make sure every battle ends just like this one."

They all made a vow to do their best until the very end. Then, they went and joined the rest of the warriors in celebration.

Marcello pulled Leopold away from the group. He immediately wrapped his arms around his lover. "You looked very graceful and beautiful out there," he said quietly as he looked into violet eyes.

The feminine boy blushed. "Thank you very much," he responded. His voice was quieter then the elder man's voice above him.

Marcello smiled. "You are very cute." He leaned down and kissed him softly. His lover kissed back gently. When they pulled away he smirked. "I think we make a great team."

Leopold smiled as well. "I believe that we do. We each have our own way of fighting, but we learn from each other. I got precision from watching you after all."

"And I got what little grace I have from you, My Love."

Gilbert watched the two from farther away. It brought a small smile to his face. His thoughts wandered off to the man he had discovered he was in love with. He wished that he could have what those two young boys had. But, he knew that his relationship would end as quickly as it began.

When he was done with this world he would never return. He would never see these people ever again. But they would still on. They would grow older and they would eventually die. They would wonder where he disappeared to. But soon they would just give up and forget about him.

He felt an ache in his chest thinking about it all. He had not been in the realm very long. But it was long enough to care for the people he had grown to know. He began to remember once again how much he hated this life of his. How much he hated this curse.

Though he was never bored in his lifetime he was always very lonely. He could never be close to anyone. Not truly at least. He sighed as he watched everyone celebrate the small victory.

He soon decided to join his men. After all, he was their leader in this war. He congratulated each warrior that he was given the chance to speak with. They all gathered around a fairly large fire and drinks were given out. He took a mug happily. Alcohol soothed his nerves after all.

Wendy walked over to Gilbert and took a seat by his side. "Thank you for believing in us. The battle was truly and experience. I am sure that it has not only opened my eyes, but the boys as well. This battle was fairly easy for you and us. But I know that there will be harder battles so come. I want to let you know that I will be here to fight in each and every single one."

She smiled softly as she spoke. Her eyes shining with pride and determination. After dreaming of being a warrior ever since she was a little girl her dreams had finally come true. She was not going to let go now that she had a hold of that dream. This was her chance to show everyone what she was truly capable of.

"I am glad to hear that you are willing to fight until the very end. That makes you a true warrior. I am sure that the boys will join you in every battle from here on out. With all of us working together we can surely banish the demons in this world." The albino fixed his hair and felt the two bumps on his head were still there. It made no sense to him, but he decided to ignore it for now seeing as he had other things to think about.

When the night finally fell and the celebration ended he and the children all headed home. And when Gilbert finally reached his room he pulled out the little black whistle he had gotten from his lover. He put it to his lips and blew softly.

In just two minutes of silence Lovino had appeared before the prince. Surrounding him was black smoke. He looked over at his lover. "You have called for me?"

The pale man was completely stunned. Transportation spells took a lot of magic to work. He did not know that the man who offered him his power was strong enough to perform the highest levels of magic. "Wow! I was not expecting you to get here so quickly."

"I did tell you that I had power. But I am going to assume that you had need for me since you summoned me threw the whistle I gave you," Lovino pointed out.

He sat on his bed with a sigh. "I have called you here for two reasons. The first reason being I simply wished to speak to you and be in your presence. But I also have a concern. For a while now I have had these two bumps on my head. I do not know if it is anything to worry about. But I have a strange feeling."

When Lovino heard about the two bumps on his head his eyes narrowed. He walked over to the man and sat beside him. His slender hands immediately went to feel the bumps. He fingers ran over them softly. He knew immediately what was happening.

"I cannot say that I can tell you much about these bumps. But I am sure that fate will show you soon enough. I feel that something big is going to happen to cause a change in your life. It is going to be something that will strike your heart. Though it should not affect you, I know that it will. You are just tired of watching those around you die. Those kind of things can drive a man mad you know." He spoke calmly and quietly. His eyes filled with knowledge that he refused to ultimately share.

"What do you mean? Will you not tell me the answer to the problems that I will face? Did you not give me your word that you would help make me stronger?" Gilbert asked in slight desperation.

Lovino leaned in and gave a chaste kiss to the worried man before him. "I have stayed true to my word. For you are stronger than you were before. And I will continue to give you strength. But I am afraid that help has put the curse placed on you into effect. There is nothing I can do to change that. I do not know how to cure such a curse. But I give you my word that one day, somewhere, somehow, I will break it. I will change your fate, Dreamweaver." And just as quickly as he appeared he vanished. Leaving behind only a small black feather.


	16. Chapter 15

Gilbert stayed up all night after Lovino had vanished. And when the morning sun rose he was just as surprised as he was when he heard that name spill from his lover's lips. How could he possibly know what he was? What he TRULY was. It was impossible.

Though he wondered if maybe he could sense it due to his high levels of magic. After all magic was granted to beings from the astral world. But not every realm has access to the astral realm.

He sighed and decided that that must be it. There was no other explanation. As far as he knew other Dreamweaver's did not exist. He had never in all of his times traveling met one. He took a deep breath and decided to just get on with his day. He would approach the Amber eyed man about it when he calmed down a bit.

For now he needed time to think. He had to think about the war, the attacks on the kingdoms and now his lover knowing his true identity. Honestly, this world was proving to be quite a handful.

After getting ready for his day and praying he decided to do some patrols. He had been leaving that job to his men lately, but today he felt the need to get out. So, he decided to do the job instead. He took his horse and began to first patrol the castle grounds and surrounding forest.

When he found no signs of any demons he moved on. His next location being the noble village. The village was pretty lively. All of the people had heard the news of the army's recent yet small victory. There was a small celebration at the church. Many of the nobles were gathered.

Many of them congratulated him. But he could tell that many of the people were finding it hard to be so kind to him. He resisted the urge to tell them all to fuck off. He knew that just as they were kind they could be equally as cruel. He could always see it in their eyes. But they were not about to kill of the man who was leading them to salvation. Not yet. He did not stay in the noble village very long. He made the rounds there as quickly as possible.

After finishing up he made it to the slums. It was the same as always. The people marketing in the streets and trying to make a decent enough living. Gilbert always took the opportunity to help out.

So, when he passed by stands selling food he would usually buy some. That way they could get some money. Then, the food he bought would be given away. When he would see someone he knew could not afford to get food that day he would give them some. He knew it was not much. But it was still something for now.

After making his rounds and giving out the food he had bought he headed to his favorite place. The place that had his two best friends sitting in waiting. He grinned happily when he entered and saw his friends sitting at their table.

"Gilbert! My friend! We heard about your recent victory!" Antonio cheered out.

"Indeed. News travels very fast. It seems you trained those little warriors of yours very nicely," Francis commented.

He went to sit with the two men and waved over the bartender. He order a mug of ale for each of them. "It is very nice to have a victory like that. Even if it was a small fight. It was small in strength, but it was large in numbers. I can only assume that the next battle will be twice as difficult." He said as he took a drink of his ale.

Francis nodded and took a drink of his ale. Though he preferred wine he was not going to object a drink his friend payed for. "I am sure the battles will only get harder just as you have stated. But I have faith that you will bring the enemies to their knees."

"I also have faith in you. And never forget that I am here to help if it is ever needed. You know I am not as weak as I seem to be," Antonio stated. A look of fire was in the man's eyes. But it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Gilbert let out a soft and gentle laugh. "I am glad to have you two as friends. You are always here for me and know exactly what to say. Truly, you two will forever be in this heart of mine. For many, many years to come."

The two looked at each other and then at the albino man before them. They did not understand the sadness in their friend's eyes. What was on his mind? They frowned a bit, but thought that it must just be stress from all he was needed to do.

"Gilbert, we will always be here for you. It does not matter what happens. Wherever you go we will surely follow. Whether it be physically, mentally or spiritually, we will be by your side. Through thick and through thin. That is what friends are for after all," Francis said with reassurance.

Red eyes stared into blue. And then into green. Those words touched his heart deeply. He had never heard words like that spoken to him. No one had ever vowed to stay by his side. And he in turn never promised to stay around. For he knew that that promise would be broken no matter what. Eventually he would either return home or wake in yet another realm.

He grinned with happy tears gathering in his eyes. "Thanks you guys. I could never wish to have friends better than you. You two are truly the best. I mean it. No one has ever cared about me so much."

He threw his arms around the two men. They immediately embraced him back. He laughed softly. "I am glad to make you happy," Antonio said. He always enjoyed making people happy. It was one of his favorite things to do.

The three of them got more drinks from the bartender. They chatted together happily. Blissfully unaware of the gold eyes watching them from the shadows.

"They are giving our little prince too much love and courage. I think I will have to do something about that. I cannot expect him to fall if he is constantly being swayed away from his doubts," The dark figure said. His crystal ball disappeared and he called out to his brother.

"You have called?" the elder brother said.

"Yes. I have to go out and work on something. Just keep an eye on the demons. Make sure they are doing our bidding. This is something I want to do myself," the younger of the two said with a sinister smile.

The elder sighed. He bowed down ever so slightly. "Alright brother. Do not ruin any of the plans that were made. I do not wish to have to kill you for screwing things up."

The smaller one rolled his eyes. "I will not screw up, brother." With that said he disappeared into the darkness.

With a glowing light and magical words the other brought the crystal ball back. He could see the prince and his friends at the tavern in which they could usually be found when the sun left the sky.

He switched the vision to keep an eye on his brother. He seemed to be close by. Just lurking in an ally. He frowned a bit. He hoped that he was not trying to kill Gilbert again. He would hate to have to personally stop his brother.

He decided to keep a close eye on things for now. If it seemed like his brother was going to do any harm to the prince then he would have to interfere somehow. But if not then he would let it be.

After what seemed like hours the men in the tavern were almost completely drunk. But they were somehow still able to function after all the drinks they had consumed. Francis and Gilbert were in the middle of making out while Antonio watched them intently. He wanted to join in too.

Eventually he did. He was soon the one making out with Gilbert. Little laughs spilt from the three's lips randomly now and then. The elder man watched from the crystal ball with a huff.

He was getting quiet tired of watching such a thing. But he had to. It was quiet unfortunate for him.

After what seemed like an eternity the bartender was finally kicking them out of his tavern. Telling them to get home for the night. Bidding each other farewell they all went their separate ways. When the dark figure saw that his little brother was not following Gilbert home he finally stopped watching him.

Echoes of footsteps could be heard all around him. He looked around but he saw no one following him. He saw nothing in the darkness besides his own shadow. Soon he could hear the soft sound of whispering. The very soft sound of singing.

It got closer and closer. The words haunting him. His heart began to beat faster and faster. He began to walk a bit faster. His home was not too far from where he was. The footsteps got louder.

"Come to me and be my prey. On this night you have misbehaved. Sharpened knives they cut the skin. You must stop being near him. Come with me so you can die. I cannot wait to see him cry. I will make you disappear. I am feeding off your fear. Am I far or am I near? Come and meet sweet death, my dear. This will be the end for you. And the end will come for him soon, too."

He ran and ran as the singing got louder. And when gold eyes met his, he froze in an instant. He opened his mouth to let out a scream. But it went silent as soon as it came. The sound faded in the night. His body fell to the ground and he was soon lying in a pool of his own blood. The young figure grinned in the darkness. His prey was now dead. His plan was now in effect.

Gilbert got home to his temple and got rid of his clothes quickly. It felt so nice to be in his nice and soft bed. It was nice and warm after walking home alone in the cold of night. Winter was right around the corner. It would probably begin to snow soon. Wars in the snow were always very tiring. He did not like to stain the beautiful, white snow with blood.

He let out a deep sigh and thought about all that had happened recently. He thought about the great victory he and his men had. The strange powers that he had maintained. He thought about how powerful Lovino was. He wondered just how much he actually knew. What did he plan to do to get rid of his curse? What was the curse even? There were so many thoughts in his head that he found it hard to even fall asleep.

Eventually he managed to do so. He fell into a deep sleep. He dreamt of him and Lovino fighting together in the war. Using great and powerful magic to defeat the growing horde of demons. He dreamed of staying with the man forever.

When the gold eyed man returned home his brother was waiting for him. He skipped over and sat down across from him. "Hello, brother. I am surprised to see you are still up at this hour," he said cheerfully. Clearly he was in a good mood.

The other just stared at him with a calm expression. "You were taking a very long time. I am just curious to know what it is you had to do."

The younger one grinned maliciously. "Just wait. You shall see very soon."


	17. Chapter 16

All around the castle people were running amuck. There was absolutely no silence. Soon, the same was happening at the temple. Gilbert woke up to the sound of frantic knocking at his door. He heard commotion all throughout his temple.

His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. He quickly got up and got into his holy robes. He could not show himself naked to his fellow monks after all.

When he was dressed he opened the door to his room. A shorter monk was at the door with a worried looked. There was grief in his eyes. "What is it?" Gilbert asked the man.

The man looked down. He frowned and sighed. "Sir Gilbert. There was been a murder. The body was hung on the clock tower of the castle," he said quietly.

The Holy Priest's eyes went wide. "A murder? Who was killed?!" he asked frantically.

The other man shook his head. "I was given orders not to reveal that information to you. The king . . . your brother . . . he is requesting you to get to the castle immediately. I am very sorry, Sir." He bowed and quickly left.

The albino wasted no time. He ran as quickly as he could to the stables. There a small bit of relief in his hear that the person murdered was not his brother. Or well . . . the man known as his brother in this realm. Even if he was not his true brother he still cared whether he lived or died. It was his job to save this realm after all.

He got on his horse and sped off to the castle. He urged the horse to run as fast as he could. This was an urgent matter and it had to be dealt with immediately.

When he arrived at the castle he saw no body on the tower. He could only assume that they had already gotten the body down. So, he entered the castle. As he entered a guard told him he was needed in the medical room down in the lower grounds of the castle.

He let out a breath he did not know he was holding as he went down the stone, spiral staircase. The stairs seemed to go on forever. The closer he got the harder his heart began to pound. When he reached the wooden door to the medical room his hand stopped to hover over the handle.

Taking a deep breath he pulled the door open. On the table he could see a body covered with a silk white sheet. His brother and the royal sorcerer were standing on each side of the body. Their eyes filled with sorrow.

"Brother, I am sorry. There was nothing we could do to save him. He was already too far gone," Ludwig said. His voice filled with pain.

"I tried to bring him back. There was no way to save him. He had been dead for far too long before we found him," Arthur said. "I am sorry."

Gilbert looked at the two. Then, his eyes fell onto the covered body. His heart was filled with pain and fear. "Who is it? Who has died?" he asked. His voice was shaky and his pink eyes were filling with tears.

Ludwig looked down at the ground when he saw the tears gathering in his brother's eyes. "I believe that it would be best for you to see for yourself."

Gilbert held back his tears as he stepped closer. He stood next to the body and looked at the white sheet through teary eyes. His vision began to blur. He reached out with shaky hands and lifted the cover. His hand immediately flew to his mouth as the tears streamed down his face.

He fell to his knees as he cried for the loss of his dear friend. The man who gave him the encouragement to always push on and move forward the moment he got to this realm. Francis was now dead. He lay lifeless beside him. And there was nothing he could do. There was no way to go back and stop him from dying. He could not go back just by willing it.

Just as soon as he fell the room began to fill with the sounds of his scream. His screams of agony and anger could be heard throughout the entire castle. And it did not take long for the room to be filled with pure white light.

He pulled at his hair and cried and screamed with all of his might. Not only did he feel pain in his chest, but now his whole body was in excruciating pain as well. His body felt like it was being engulfed by flames. Like it was being ripped apart.

He hovered in the air ever so slightly. The bumps on his head grew larger and larger until two long, white horns protruded from his skull. From his back white, leathery wings appeared. From his tail bone came a thick, white tail. His canine teeth turning into fangs. His eyes permanently became red.

Ludwig and Arthur watched him in shock. Though they knew what was happening to him, they did not under WHY it was happening. They could do nothing but watch in shock. They could not even process the thought to try and stop it from happening.

When he was finally done transforming he was still floating in the air. He looked angry. He looked like he wanted to destroy the world. That was exactly what he had in mind. He was gone to the world. His mind lost in the grief of losing someone dear to him.

Before the other two could even react he was gone. He had disappeared right before their very eyes. He could smell the man who had murdered his friend. The man was far but he would get there soon enough. Then, he would kill him.

Arthur cursed quietly. He grabbed his large spellbook immediately. "We have to get him back. I know he is going to go after the man who killed his friend. But I am sure that the man will be expecting him. He will die quickly and easily," he said through gritted teeth. He began to go through his spell book.

"We cannot let that happen. We need to get him back and calm him down. Then, we will have to figure out what to do. How will he lead a war against demons when . . . well. .I can hardly even believe it," Ludwig said. His voice full or concern for his brother.

Arthur sighed loudly as he continued to flip through his book. "We will figure out what to do with him once we get him back. Things are going to get a lot harder around here. The people in the kingdom already hate him. If they find out what he has become it will cause an outrage."

"That is the last thing I want to happen. He is the only chance we really have at defeat the large amount of demons in the realm." Ludwig ran his fingers through his hair. Slightly messing up the neat and tidy locks.

Arthur hit the table when he found what he had been looking for. He immediately got to work on chanting. Concentrating very hard he held his hands out in front of him. A large, green circle with many symbol appeared. Soon, Gilbert appeared inside of the circle. He tried to break free, but he was trapped inside by an invisible force.

He growled and clawed at the force keeping him wear he was. He was very angry to be trapped. Thrashing around loudly he tried and tried. Completely ignoring the two men watching him.

"Gilbert. It is me, Ludwig. Can you hear me?" He asked. He got no response as the demon continued to rampage. "Gilbert. We need you to calm down for us!" Still there was no response.

Arthur concentrated on his flow of magic and sent out a little bolt of lightning. It hit the prince in his arm. He groaned in pain and looked at the blonde sorcerer.

"Gilbert. Calm down please. We know that you are hurt. We know you want the man who killed your friend to be dead. He will die. I know that he will be killed. Right now though, we just need you to calm down. There is no need to go out and attack. The people in town will try to kill you if they find you looking the way you do."

The albino demon looked at him. There was still rage in his eyes. But he listened to every word the sorcerer had to say to him. He made a face of confusion and his hands went to reach for his head. When he felt the two horns on his head his eyes went wide in fear. He jumped and immediately he was in the air. His wings flapping. That only seemed to freak him out more and he fell.

"Brother. It is okay. We are going to figure out how to fix it. Do not worry. We will keep you safe. We are not afraid of you. I love you brother. I will not allow anyone to hurt you." He walked into the circle and hugged his brother tightly. The red eyed man clung to him tightly.

He could not believe that he was a demon. That he was one of them. It scared him. In all of his time traveling to other realms he had never had anything like this happen to him before. He had never hated a creature so much. But demon he found he hated more than anything in the world. So, why? Why did this have to happen to him?

He closed his eyes tight and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the black whistle and blew as hard as he could. Tears falling down his face once again.

Lovino was there within seconds. That loud of a call signal had to be for something important. When he saw the sight before him he has found that he was right. This was probably the most important thing to Gilbert.

With quick strides he went over to his lover. Ludwig stepped aside, not even questioning how or when Lovino got there. The amber eyed man wrapped his arms around the pale man. "I am here, Love. I am here for you," he whispered.

Gilbert held onto him tightly. He was slightly shaking. "Take me away from here. Please," he choked out.

Lovino granted his wish with no hesitation and no words. Soon enough they were in Gilbert's castle bedroom. He did not take him to the temple in fear of the other monks seeing him. They landed on his bed softly and he laid the demon down. Holding him gently. "You do not need to cry. I know that you are grieving for I heard the news. And I know that this whole demon thing is scary. But things will be okay. I told you I would break the curse that was cast on you."

Gilbert sniffled a bit and rubbed at his eyes. "I did not even get to tell him goodbye. I should have escorted him home. I knew that it was not always safe out at night. But I let him walk home alone. It is my fault."

"It is not your fault. None of it is. Not even you turning into a demon. None of it is because of you. Bad things happen in the world. It is unfortunate, but that is the way it works. But the bad things that happen to you. I will make better," Lovino assured him with a kiss to his forehead.

The albino blushed. "I am glad that you are so kind to me. I am happy that you see me in the light rather than the dark. But even so . . . even with all that you have said I still feel that it is my fault. I am supposed to protect the people."

"You cannot protect every single person, Gilbert. People die. That is how the world works. But it is never your fault. Well, unless you are the person to kill the one who meets death. But you did not kill your friend. It was the man bringing in all the demons. He wants to see you fall apart. To see you fail. But I am not going to let you fail. We will give him a taste of his own medicine. He will be the one to fail and soon he will be the one to die."


	18. Chapter 17

Arthur had spent weeks looking for a way to fix Gilbert. Even a temporary fix would work fine for now. The prince needed to free to lead his men into war. The attacks were getting stronger now and they were slaughtering people left and right. They were getting closer and closer to the kingdom and its people.

Elizabeta had been put in charge for now. And though she was a great warrior she was not enough. The kids were keeping the amount of human deaths at a minimal. But that was all they could do. They could not stop the deaths from happening all together. While their numbers were dwindling down due to death and injury, the enemy numbers only continued to grow. Even with the never ending slaughtering of the demons their numbers grew.

He sighed as he heard a steady knock at his door. He did not wish to be bothered, but he had many jobs at the castle. Curing Gilbert was not his only job. "Come in!" he shouted. His eyes never leaving his spell book.

Lovino walked in and looked at the overworked sorcerer. He looked very disheveled. He probably had not slept in days. "Arthur, I have brought you more books to take a look at," he said quietly.

Arthur let out a soft sigh and looked up at the man. "Thank you Lovino. Hopefully one of the books will have something. Anything will work at this point. I just need to get him back into battle." He took the books from the tanned man and set them on his desk. "How are things going on your side? Has he gotten any better?"

Lovino smiled softly. He always did when he thought about his lover. Arthur could tell how in love he was with the prince. "Things are going well. He has improved greatly. He has a lot more control with his powers now. We have not really worked on how to use them in combat, but it is a little hard seeing as he is trapped in his room. But I understand why he is being locked away in there. I know what the people think of him." Towards the end of speech his smile turned into a frown.

Arthur wore a frown as well. He opened the first book in the pile and skimmed through it. Looking to see if he could see any passages that may be useful.

As far as he could tell nothing was what he was looking for. There were a few things that could be helpful, but none of it would cure the man. He ran his hands through his slightly greasy locks.

"None of the books ever bring up a cure. Hardly any of them even speak of being a demon before death. There are the rare cases of a demon child whom is born half human. But he was not born a demon. His parents were both full humans," Arthur said. His voice full of frustration.

Lovino sat in the chair across from the desk. He picked up one of the books and began to look through it. "I am sure you will figure something out. They do not call you the best sorcerer of this realm for no reason."

The two of them spent hours looking through the dusty old books. Most of them had not been touched in what looked to be decades or so. The pages were worn, but they still held together. But none of them had what they were looking for.

Lovino closed the last book in his pile. He looked at the sorcerer who seemed to be half asleep. "You should get some rest. You will work a lot better if you get some sleep. The problem will still be there for you to fix tomorrow."

Arthur put the book down and mumbled incoherently. He was already falling asleep. Lovino decided to take the man to his chambers and put him to bed. He needed the man to be in good condition so that his lover could be healed.

He went to said lover's room next. The albino demon was floating in midair with a bored expression on his face. When he saw Lovino his eyes went wide. He smiled and flew over to him. He grabbed him in a big hug. His tail wrapping around him as well. "Hi! I was really bored when I woke up. Where did you go?"

The brown haired man laughed. "I was giving Arthur more books to look through. I helped to look through them. Sadly they did not hold the information that we were looking for. But I have plenty more books where those came from."

Gilbert pursed his lips. Being a demon had made him kind of territorial. So, he did not like thinking about his lover being with another man. But he tried to ignore that. "That all sounds fairly boring," he said. The jealousy was clear in his tone even as he tried to hide it.

The slightly elder man smirked. He could hear the jealousy in the demon's words as clear as day. The fact that he was jealous over something so trivial was actually kind of adorable. "He is a very excellent kisser," He said teasingly. He did not kiss the sorcerer, but he wanted to see his lover's reaction.

Gilbert went stiff and he held Lovino even tighter than before. He slammed him into the wall. "He kissed you?!" he yelled. Growling as he did so. His body began to get hot like fire.

Lovino gasped in pain. Within seconds it felt like he was on fire. He was trying not to cry. "No! I was just teasing you!" he yelled out.

Gilbert held him there for a few more seconds before putting him down. He was furiously that he was lied to. But he was also relieved that it was only a lie. It took a few minutes but he finally calmed down.

"I am sorry for teasing you. I just thought it was cute that you were jealous. So, I wanted to see how cute your reaction would be if I told you that. But it was more terrifying and painful than it was cute," the other said quietly. Then pain had finally left him. But he was still a bit scared. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. He did not want the demon to be mad at him.

The prince sighed and knelt down in front of him. "That was a stupid move on your part. You know how demons work. I cannot yet handle the bad emotions. I want to own you. I want no one to touch you but myself. I love you. The love is so overwhelming that I cannot even handle it. So, I am sorry for hurting you, but you made me feel like someone was threatening to take you from me."

Lovino blushed bright red. Though he did not like that the man before him said he wanted to own him. But the way he spoke made his heart flutter. It made him fall in love with the man even more than he already was. It was hard to believe that was even possible after loving him for so many years.

"For a demon you are very sweet," he muttered quietly. He got up off the ground and got onto the large bed. The silver silk sheets crinkling up. "Do not forget that I love you as well. Everything that I do . . . the good and the bad . . . is all for you."

Gilbert went over and sat right next to him. He pulled the man close and began to play with his hair. "I have never seen you do bad. And somehow I doubt that you even could. You may be tough, but you are too kind and gentle to do anything really bad."

He smiled softly. Closing his amber eyes. "You do not of the things I have done Gilbert. I hope that you never have to find out about the things I have done. I do not wish for you to think badly of me. I do what I have to do. All within good reason of course."

"Will you ever tell me what you have done?"

"Not if I do not absolutely need to. Though maybe one day when all this is in the past I can tell you. But when if I do you have to promise me that you will to leave me." Lovino did not look at the man as he spoke. He knew this would keep his secrets safe. He knew that there was one single promise that Gilbert never made. He would never promise to stay.

The albino man frowned. It seemed that he would never know about his lover's secrets. He could not make that promise to his lover, but how could he say that. How could he phrase that without hurting his feelings? He found that there was no way those words would not hurt. So, he chose to stay silent instead.

Lovino fought the sad smile that tried to make its way onto his face. It hurt that the man would keep leading him on. Though he knew that the man was going to disappear. But he knew very little about the amber man. So, maybe it was only fair. They were both hiding things from each other.

It did not take long for Lovino to fall asleep in the long silence. Gilbert did not move an inch when he found the man was asleep. He let him rest for now. Just watching him with a gentle expression on his face. He wished that he could stay with the man.

He actually found someone who loved him just as much as he loved him. Tears gathered in his eyes. He did not find that he hated being a Dreamweaver often. He usually loved his job. He loved to travel all around the realms. But now that he found love, he found that he just wanted to stay in that realm for as long as he lived.

Gold eyes looked into a crystal ball. The sight before him made him boil. He could not hear any words. For his magic was not very strong without the magic on his brother's side. All he could see was the blurry image of his brother being attacked. He could see his elder brother writhing in pain. Just like that the vision was gone. The slender male growled. What was that man doing to his brother?! He huffed angrily. "How dare he hurt my brother!" he shouted into the empty room.

As much as he wanted to help his brother he knew he would not even make it into the castle. There were magical barriers all around it. He had to pay a lowly human in the slums to hang Francis' body on the castle for fucking sake.

With that thought in mind he smirked. Humans were easily bribed with money. And with their hatred for the prince he did not even have to pay them much to do his dirty work. If it could in some way hurt the prince or ruin his reputation someone would do it for cheap. He could easily pay someone to help his brother escape. Or better yet he could have the man killed.

He pulled on his cloak and left his dark home. He was surrounded by trees as soon as he walked out of the house. He wished he could just transport into town. But long distance travel was out of the question when he could not use his brother's magic. So, he set off for a very long journey.

"Do not worry brother. I will save you."


	19. Chapter 18

The bright sun stayed hidden behind dull gray clouds. Not one ray of light shined through the clouds. The animals stayed quiet as they hid from the world. Everything was silent, but all around there was noise. The smell of blood and ash filled the air.

The snow was beginning to the dust the ground with its presence. Winter would be coming fairly soon. It was letting its presence be known to those who were battling in the ongoing war. The humans were not adjusted to the cold yet.

The freezing temperatures were effecting the way the warriors fought. They were slower and their senses were dull. Those who were not elite were making mistakes left and right. Some of those warriors were left to die.

Elizabeta continued to lead her men and women on the front line. She fought alongside King Abel, his sister Princess Belle and all of Gilbert's recruits. They were all holding up better than the other warriors. They were hardly even wounded compared to the others.

"It has been weeks. Will the fighting never end?!" shoted Princess Belle. She swung a short sword to slice off the head of another demon.

Elizbeta swung her own long sword to kill the demons before her. "I do not know. The income of demons never seems to stop until the sun is out."

"Our men are in bad shape. And I know that even if we are faring well we need rest. We have all been fighting for eighteen hours," King Abel said.

Elizabeta sighed. She had to admit that she was exhausted. She may not be hurt but she sure as hell was tired. "I am afraid there is nothing to do though. If we retreat then the army will invade the slums and noble village."

"Is there any way we can put up a magic barrier? Even a temporary one?" asked Belle.

Abel nodded. "That is the only choice we have. I did not want to pull away Lukas from the castle, but it is needed. Vlad will just have to use all of his energy to keep a field around the castle."

He took out a whistle and blew into it. It was very similar to the one Gilbert had. Within seconds Lukas appeared before the fighting warriors. "You have called my king?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. We need a magic barrier put up. Just for a few hours so that me and our warriors can rest. We have been fighting for too long," Abel explained.

"No problem your majesty. I can do that for you easily." He sat down and began chanting immediately. A blue glow surrounded him and soon the demons around them began to perish. After a bit longer the demons could not get passed the field of magic. "That should last about five hours. I hope that it enough."

Elizabeta smiled sweetly. "Thank you very much. It is plenty of time." She turned to face all of her men. Putting on a more stern expression she placed her sword in front of her. "I thank all of you for fighting so hard with us on this day. This sorcerer has graciously given us safety to rest for five hours. I suggest you use the time wisely!" she announced to the warriors.

The men and women were so relieved. They wanted to collapse right then and there, but they would likely get frostbite. So, they walked the short distance to all of their supplies. They all huddled together under many blankets and quickly fell asleep.

Elizabeta went along and gather the supplies for her and her elites. When she brought them back they were all gathered around a small fire that Marcello had just finished making. Said boy went over to sit next to Leopold.

One by one she handed all of them their blankets. Everyone was paired up beside her and Erland. But they preferred it that way. The only couple there was Marcello and Leopold after all.

They soon fell asleep as well. Lukas kept an eye on all of the sleeping faces. He made sure to stay focused so that the field would not disappear. This was the least he could do since they were working so hard to keep the war from escalating.

Gilbert laid in bed. He could here commotion throughout the halls, but he did not leave his room. He was told not to after all. And he knew it was all within good reason. But the commotion kept getting closer until it came crashing through the door. Said commotion was named Antonio.

When the tanned man laid his eyes on the prince he was shocked. His green eyes went wide. He definitely was not expecting the site before him. Nothing could have prepared him for such a thing.

"Is that you Gilbert?" he asked. He stayed by the door. Though he trusted his friend not to attack him, he was still cautious.

The red eyed man sat up. He looked his friend up and down. He was so glad that he was alive. "It is me. I know that this is a lot to take in, but I ask you not to hate me. Though if you do I do not blame you.'

Antonio laughed softly and walked over to his friend. "I could never hate you. Not even for something like this. Which by the way, I doubt is even your fault in the first place."

Gilbert laughed as well. "I am glad that you do not hate me. But on the other hand, what brings you here?" he asked.

"Well, I kept trying to get in contact with you. But no one would listen to me or give me word from you. So, I just decided to push my way through." He grinned wickedly. That is when he noticed the battle axe behind the man.

"I have not seen your axe in a very long time," the albino commented.

"I know. I have decided that I am going to join in fighting the demons. The death of our beloved friend has filled with grief and rage. I need to kill the things and person responsible for his death."

"You know that you will be fighting with King Abel, correct?" he asked the tan man. He wanted to be sure that he knew that.

Antonio huffed. "I have heard. It sucks and I am not at all happy about it. But I know."

Gilbert nodded. "Well as long as you know. I will support you in this war just as you support me. I am hoping to be let out soon. I want to end this war. And I know that only I have the power to do so."

"Getting a bit cocky there are we?" Antonio teased.

The demon stuck out his tongue. He knew that his friend was only teasing. "I am a demon now. So, I have the power to fight against them. Also, I am being made stronger each day. I just need to learn to control my powers well enough to fight with them."

Antonio smirked. He grabbed his axe firmly. "Well then you need some practice yes? I know I could use some practice." Just the thought of fighting sent shivers down the tan man's spine.

Gilbert grinned. He flew into the air and zipped around Antonio. "That sounds great! I have been trapped here for way too long. It would be nice to get some fresh air and fight. But we have to be very careful. I cannot be seen by anyone. I do not wished to be attacked for real."

He went over to the window in his room and opened it. They were about five stories above the ground, but he had nothing to worry about since he could fly. "We can sneak out of this window!" he shouted.

Antonio raised an eyebrow. "I do not know if you forgot or not. But I cannot fly. I do not have wings like you."

Red eyes rolled in annoyance. "I know. I am not stupid. You are going to hold onto me very tight. I will fly us somewhere we can practice in absolute safety." He held out a pale hand to the other who stared at it for quite a while.

Eventually he grabbed onto the hand. And when Gilbert flew out of the window with him he panicked. His grip on the pale hand tightened tenfold. He did not dare look down.

The prince flew high above the tress to avoid being spotted from below. The view was very nice and the cool breeze felt wonderful on his skin. He felt so calm and at ease.

He flew about an hour away from the castle. The area was heavily condensed with trees. Most people did not wander off this far into the forest. If they were going to encounter anything it would either be an animal or a demon.

When he finally touched the ground Antonio fell to his knees. He kissed the snow covered ground over and over again. Thanking the gods and goddesses that he was still alive.

"You can be just as dramatic as Francis sometimes," the prince said. Though it was meant to be a teasing statement it only made the two sad. They sat together in silence for a moment.

"Let us practice. Let us fight for him. We will not let his death mean nothing," Antonio said a few moments later. He stood and took his axe into his hands.

Gilbert stood as well. He readied his sword. "Yes. We fight for him. We will show no mercy to those responsible for his death. Let us make sure we are ready."

The two friends circled around each other in the small clearing. It was just large enough for the two of them to fight. Antonio was the first to attack. He swung the axe with no hesitation. Though he did not aim to kill he still aimed to hurt.

Gilbert used his wings to his advantage and flew out of the way. He was trying to focus on using his powers. He wanted to test out the new powers he had discovered on accident. But sadly he found it was a lot harder to use his powers on purpose.

Antonio kept swinging at him and all he could do was dodge and swing back with his sword. He was easily able to call upon his blades of light and his white flames. But those two abilities could only do harm to demons.

He tried to call upon the thick, white fog he had developed. It left people completely paralyzed. It also filled the enemy's body with extreme levels of pain. Unfortunately no matter how hard he tried to use it, he found that he could not do it. It was far too difficult for him.

Antonio on the other hand was having no trouble at all. He swung his giant axe around with ease. Gilbert was using almost all of his effort to dodge. He had forgotten how dangerous of an opponent the tanned man was.

"Come on, Gil!" he shouted. "You can do better than that!" He laughed softly as he continued to swing and spin. He was having so much fun.

The prince huffed. "I am trying. You do not understand how hard it is to use these powers." He tried again, but he still could not do it. Growing frustrated he let out a growl.

The green eyed man stopped his attacks for a moment. "Do not get so frustrated. It takes time to learn things. "Do not get so frustrated. It takes time to learn things. You have never had magic powers before. So of course it is going to be hard for you. But you cannot doubt yourself or get worked up over it. If you do than you will never learn."

Gilbert took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He calmed down and stood completely still. "You are right. I just need to keep trying. I will continue to try until I am able to use all my powers with ease. I will not give up."


	20. Chapter 19

Antonio rode out to the front line early the next morning. He had helped Gilbert gain more confidence and he was sure that he would soon be joining the battle. Even if he is not able to get rid of his demonic features he would join the battle.

He knew it was necessary to hide him for now. Not only because of his appearance, but also in his lack of knowledge. He was still too inexperienced when it came to his magic. But now that he was able to give him a confidence boost he knew the man would come crashing into battle as soon as he was battle to.

When he arrived at the battle grounds everything was calm. Many if the warriors were still asleep. He knew he would have to make sure to get a bit of rest before the sun set. He would not want to get tired during the night battle.

He saw that the only ones awake were Elizabeta, Belle and Abel. When he saw Abel his heart skipped a beat. He had not seen the man in a very long time. Nearly a decade. He could not tell whether he was angry or perhaps sad. But he was suddenly filled with memories of the past.

Sixteen year old Antonio sat on his bed in his castle. He was currently reading one of his books. He was constantly being forced to study since he was to be running his kingdom in two years. While he was in the middle of reading he heard a knock on the door. When he told whomever it was that thye could enter he smiled brightly. Standing in his doorway way his lover, the prince of Acalenia.

"Abel! What a surprise to see you! I am afraid I do not have any snacks or beverages to offer you. I was not expecting guests," Antonio said. He rubbed the back of his neck with a blush.

Abel just looked at him with his blank face. He was never one to show how he felt. "It is fine. I do need any of that. I only wanted to see you since I was in your kingdom for other reasons." He walked over and sat on the bed.

The young brunette closed the book that he had been reading. He tilted his head in curiosity. "You were in the kingdom? What for?" he asked.

The blonde prince shook his head. "Nothing that you need to worry about. It was just business. I do not wish to talk about business." Antonio was going to protest, but Abel was quick to cut him off. It was hard to talk when your lips were preoccupied with another task. Kissing could distract anyone after all.

The green eyed prince smiled into the kiss. It had been a long while since he had last seen his lover. So, it was very nice to have a moment like such. And the moment was quick to escalate. He found that he wanted so much more than a simple little kiss.

Abel happily obliged. He always gave the man what he wanted when it came to these matters. Besides, he also wanted these things. He would never voice that however.

The blonde deepened the kiss. He slid his tongue across his lover's bottom lip. Antonio opened his mouth to accept the other's tongue into his mouth. Their tongues fought each other for dominance. But it was a battle that the brunette always found himself losing. For when his lover would suck on his tongue lightly he would always lose himself.

As Abel heard his lover let out a soft moan he let his hands begin working on the buttons of his shirt. When he was able to undo all of the buttons he slid the man's shirt off. Strong pale hands caressed the tanned chest before them.

Fingers brushed across sensitive nipples and another set of moans were let out. A pink tongue poked at them and swirled the buds until they were hardened. Antonio was writhing in pleasure beneath the blonde. He pulled back to look into green eyes. "Your body has always been so sensitive. I very much enjoy that," the blonde prince said.

The tanned man blushed a light shade of pink. He covered his face with his arm. "I cannot help it. That is just the way I am," he whined. Sometimes he wished that he were not so sensitive. Though he knew that his lover was not teasing him, it still felt like he was. It was highly embarrassing to be so sensitive since he was a male. He had his pride.

"Do not get embarrassed. This is something that I absolutely love about you. You are very passionate, sensitive and emotional. You are the complete opposite of me. I am insensitive. I have a hard time understanding the emotions of others and I do not have as much passion as you. That is the reason I came to love you," Abel said calmly.

Moments like these were the only time that he ever expressed how he felt. Antonio loved these rare moments of emotion from the man. It was nice to know that he was loved back. That his feelings were not just one sided. "I love you as well. I would not change anything about you. I love you just the way you are."

The two embraced and another kiss was shared. Antonio was soon taking off his lover's shirt. As he removed it he pulled him closer. Their bare chests rubbing against one another. He could not keep his hands off of his body.

The two continued to embrace throughout the night. Clothes were removed until they were bare. No words were said as they began to make love. Only moans of pleasure and soft whispers of love were let out. They would not have had it any other way. And when all was said and done they fell asleep in each other's embrace.

The very next day Antonio found that his bed was cold and empty. There was no sign that his lover had ever been there with him. He frowned as he got ready for the day. He could not get rid of the terrible feeling he had.

That feeling only got worse when he met with his parents. He could feel the uneasy atmosphere around them. "Mother. Father, what is wrong?" he asked.

They looked at each other and sighed. His father was the one to address him. "Our kingdom is going to be thrown into war. The King of Alcalenia wishes to take our land so that he may expand his own. Of course we cannot let that happen. As is the tradition of this realm you will be leading our kingdoms army into battle. For that is the job of a prince."

Antonio's eyes went wide. He did not want to go to war against his lover. That was the last thing he wanted. He could only assume that is why his lover came to visit him last night. That was his way of saying goodbye.

He could not help the tears that fell down his face. He felt like he was being torn apart. There was nothing he could do now but fight. It was his duty to fight. He could not let his parents down.

The brunette took his leave and headed to the tactics room. Many of the higher ups in the army were already there waiting for him. They were seated at the circular table in the middle of the room.

Hours went by and the men went through many different tactical measures with him. He listened to everyone and made his decisions at the end. He assigned members to different flanks based on skill and experience in battle.

He of course would take the very front line with his elite members. He did not have as much experience in battles as the other men. He had only been allowed to fight two years back, but it was his job to lead the men.

He sent all of his men to get as much rest as they needed. The war would begin at noon the next day. It was already set in stone. He would have to win. If he won then surely he could come up with an arrangement that would benefit both sides equally. Land in trade for good perhaps.

He spent the rest of his day practicing at the training grounds. Hours and hours flew by like they were nothing at all. Like time was nonexistent. But when they sky turned to night and the starts littered the sky he finally let himself stop.

He was not ready. He did not think he could fight against his lover. Fights unfortunately almost always involved many deaths until one side decides to retreat. He only hoped that he would not have to kill many people. Especially not Abel. He could never bring himself to do such a thing.

By the time he got back to the castle he was beyond exhausted. As soon as his head hit the pillows he was fast asleep. Sadly he was plagued with nothing but horrifying nightmares. And in each one was the death of the man he loved.

When the battle finally began days later Antonio was still not prepared. He still held the pain in his heart. But he rode to the battlefield with his men. They stood tall and proud. Ready to wage war against the neighboring kingdom.

He could see his lover across the field. In the clothes of war he looked very powerful. His expression held little regret for having to fight in the war. He looked straight into the green eyes and did not bat and eyelash.

The young prince felt rage begin to burn within him. Seeing his lover look so indifferent infuriated him. He could understand it in all other moments. But here and now? Wars were basically fights to the death? How could he, his lover, remain so indifferent? He felt betrayed.

Abel could see the hurt in his lover's eyes. It pained him to see it and he knew the reason why. Antonio was a man of passion after all. He let all of his emotions show as clear as day.

The blond prince did not have that luxury. He was to remain stone faced and noble at all times. He was to remain proud and strong. He could never show the world how much he was falling apart at the seams. He had no choice. That was the way of his kingdom. Of his family.

The two prince's raised their weapons high in the air. Abel his sword and Antonio his axe. Their men readied themselves and soon the weapons were lowered. The men on both sides began to run at each other. Hollering their war cried into the air for all to hear.

Many bodies fell to the ground. They were battered and bloodied. But neither side would retreat. Though the lovers encountered many times they would not slay one another. They watched as their men died around them.

But Antonio's men were dying off much quicker than Abel's. It was well know that the Kingdom of Acalenia had weapons far superior than any other neighboring kingdom. So, the brunette was not surprised to see his men dying off quickly. But he had hoped they would be more skilled than that.

When he found himself with only five men still standing he raised his hands. He knew that among the littered bodies there were still survivors whom would need medical attention. So, he needed to end this battle for he not only lost his own life, but the lives of his remaining men as well.

"Please, Abel. Why must we fight this war?" he asked. He looked at his lover with pleading eyes.

Abel walked over to the brunette. "I follow what my father wants of me. You have lost this war Antonio. And with it you have lost your status and your kingdom. It now belongs to my father. And soon it will belong to me. Those in your dying kingdom will either pledge their loyalty to Acalenia. . .or they may leave forever."

That was the day the Kingdom of Acendalle fell.


	21. Chapter 20

Antonio once again looked into those green eyes much like his own. The man had grown a lot since he had last seen him on the battlefield. For the day he lost he vowed never to see his former lover again. Yet there he was.

"It has been a long time," Abel said as he broke the silence. Seeing his former lover made his heart ache. He did not want to hurt the former prince like that. But it was necessary and he had no other choice.

Antonio stared at him. He tried to keep a blank face like the other, but he could never hide how he felt. His anger and disgust were easy to see. "Indeed. It has been very long. I had hoped it would have been much longer." His words were like a dagger dipped in poison. They stung the blonde and killed him slowly.

Abel felt the urge to frown or throw his hands up into the air in despair. "It was unfortunate what happened so long ago. But I do wish to put all of that behind us. I have heard you very happy living as a man free to do whatever it is you wish."

"Yes. I get to do whatever I want. There are no duties holding me back or tying me down. I can even sleep with whomever I want. I do not have to court only those nobles who would benefit me." He smirked at the blonde.

It hurt to have such words rubbed into his face like that. He still harbored great feelings of affection for the man before him. He had never found anyone else to love or to share his bed with on cold and lonely nights. He frowned slightly. And Antonio did not miss that slight change in expression. It shined brighter than the hottest sun. It was the darkness that he knew the man was always hiding from the world.

"Well, if you are happy then I guess there is nothing for me to worry about. It was all for the best after all," Abel said. His voice slightly cracking. He could feel tears begin to fill his eyes. So, he quickly turned and began walking to his tent. He would never let the world see him fall apart. That was not the way of the Acalenians.

Belle watched as her brother left. She looked over at Antonio who looked very shocked for some reason. She did not know why her brother had left so suddenly, but her guess would have to be the insulting words from the former prince.

"I apologize on behalf of my brother for leaving so rudely. I do not believe he appreciates your bragging of other lovers. He never replaced you after all. Now, I will be going to help Miss Elizabeta get things prepared for tonight's battle." He bowed her head and left towards the weaponry tent.

He watched her leave as he thought about what she had said to him. After all these years Abel had not once replaced him? He had not bedded with another man? He had to assume that he had not slept with a woman as well. Suddenly he felt impure. He felt dirty.

He knew right then that his ex-lover still loved him. But he was unsure what to think about that. He did not know if he could forgive the man. The man had taken away his entire future and left him with nothing. How could he forgive such a thing?

With a heavy sigh he sat at the fire. The sun still shined brightly in the sky, but the weather was nearing temperatures of snow. They could probably expect the snow to come fairly soon. Hopefully the warriors were prepared for that. War was difficult as it was. Add in demons and snow and it is just a massacre waiting to happen.

All was silent around him. No mattered how hard he tried he could not stop thinking about the past. He could not stop thinking about all the good times he had had with Abel. All of the good times before the war.

After sitting in the cold for about an hour he decided to go talk to the man whom was now king. He went over to the tent and slowly peeked his head inside. The blonde man was fast asleep. Antonio entered the tent very quietly and laid next to him.

The stern and indifferent man looked completely different in his sleep. That was the only time his emotions were shown on his face. Abel wore a soft frown on his soft, pale lips. He hated to see a frown on him. Yet he tried not to care. He did not want to care for a man who took away his whole life from him.

He ran his hand through the blonde locks of hair. The hair was slightly dirtied, but he did not mind. He knew that the man had probably been fighting for days. Weeks even. He continued to play with the hair as he saw the man begin to smile. He blushed softly and continued the action until he fell asleep.

In his sleep he held the man close. It was not his intention to sleep with the man. Nor was it his intention to fall asleep. He had wanted to talk to the man. But for the time being it could wait.

Gilbert got dressed in his best warrior clothing. He knew he was not going to leave his room. But he could no longer wait. His people needed him and his brother needed to understand that.

He pulled on his dark brown pants and his blood red tunic. He pulled on his armor as well. Though he only ever wore the boot guards and the matching ones on his arms. He pulled on a blood red cloak as well. As he admired himself for a quick moment he prepared himself.

He pulled the hood of the cloak over his head. It was good enough at covering his horns and it was just long enough to hide his tails as well. Though it was hard to keep his tail from swaying. He somehow managed to do so until he marched into his brother's room. The king was still in bed with Dimitri when he came in and slammed the door shut.

Ludwig sat up quickly. Not caring that he was bare of a shirt. "Brother! What are you doing roaming the castle?! You know how dangerous that is!" he shouted.

Gilbert stared at him with red eyes full of determination. "Brother, I can no longer just sit in my room and wait for Arthur to find a cure for me. I need to train. I need to be able to use my powers at their fullest. My men need me. This kingdom needs me to fight. We can no longer let these demons grow in number and kill our people. They are getting dangerously closer to the boarders. I can sense it now that I am one of them."

Ludwig sighed. "You know I cannot let you do that. It is too dangerous. If someone sees what you have become they will no doubt kill you. Do you not understand that?" The king sounded very concerned. The prince appreciated that. He truly did. But he could not let his people down.

"I know that you wish to keep me safe. But I wish to keep our people safe. I cannot do that from my room, Ludwig."

As the youngest of the two brothers was about to speak he was interrupted. "I think you should allow him to train. He needs to fight. You cannot protect him forever," a soft voice was heard saying. The voice belonged to the usually silent Dimitri. Both were shocked to hear him say something so bold. Let alone even talk.

Ludwig looked at his lover. He could not believe that he was taking his brother's side over his. "You cannot be serious," he said. Though he sounded very unsure of himself. He did not know what to think.

Dimitri smiled at his lover and his king. He grabbed onto the large, strong hand. "Do not think that I am going against you. I understand how you feel. Believe me I do. I myself have a brother. Though he is younger than I. I had to let him go on to be with the person he loved. Though I did not trust the man at all. He would not change his mind. I had to let him go and become what he wanted."

Ludwig sighed. He knew that the words of his lover were true. He had to let his brother go and become who he wanted to be. He had to let fate guide him. Little did he know that the brother his lover spoke of had turned into a demon for the man he loved.

The king turned to look at his brother. He could see the fire to fight in his eyes. There was no evil in those bright, red eyes. Only good could be seen. "I will let you train. But you must not run off into battle until you are in full control of your powers. The only exception being they get pass the boarder."

Gilbert smiled happily. He was overjoyed with his brother's decision. He wasted no time getting to the training grounds. He immediately blew the whistle in his pocket.

Lovino arrived within seconds as was usual. He was wearing brown and red just as his lover was. It was actually cute that they sort of matched, but the albino would not say that out loud. "Miss me already? I have not been gone that long," the brunette teased.

Gilbert rolled his eyes with a huff and a blush. "Oh, shut up. That is not the reason I called you. I have called you here because my brother gave me permission to do actual training."

Lovino lifted a brow. "Since when does permission matter to you?" he asked. "I know that you went out with your friend to train the other day."

The prince pursed his lips "So? We trained a bit. But he does not know how my magic works. You, on the other hand, seem to know exactly how it works. You have magic yourself. So, it makes sense for me to train with you. I need to battle against you and have you explain to me how to properly call upon my powers. You promised you would make me stronger. I trust in you to do that."

Lovino straightened his posture more than before and looked his lover straight in the eyes. "If a fight against me is what you wish than it is what you shall get. Giving you strength is the only way I can protect you in this world." He walked over to the man and kissed him gently. Biting his bottom lip softly. "Do prepare yourself," he said in a whisper.

He walked back over to where he was standing and closed his eyes. He was soon surrounded by green glowing light. His clothes began to turn into holy garments. He wore a pure white robe with a red sash. He seemed to be floating just slightly above the ground. When he was finished with his small transformation he was surround for white light aside from his hands. Those were still encased with green light.

Moving his hands to form strange symbols with the light he spoke silently. Gilbert knew that an attack was coming, but he did not know what kind of attack. The way Lovino used his magic was much different since he was a sorcerer and not a demon. He knew that he would have to use his magic his own way.

Soon, he was attacked by a mass of glowing needles. He tried to dodge them all, but he had not been quick enough. The pain was immensely irritating. "I will not let you die, but I will not be going on you easily. Do not assume that I will not hurt you."

Gilbert nodded and the next attack came just as quickly as the first. This time he was prepared. He called forth a field and the training went on for hours and hours onward.


	22. Chapter 21

The gold eyed man paced back and forth in the large dark room. He had been pacing forever. Violet eyes watched him in boredom. He stopped being concerned after the seventh hour of watching his lover. "Are you not tired from all that pacing? Are you not hungry? Surely you cannot enjoy walking around aimlessly for hours upon hours," the violet eyed demon spoke.

Gold eyes turned to glare at him. "You have distracted me from my thoughts, Ivan. Do you wish to anger me? I could have you killed you know."

Said demon pouted childishly. "You would kill me? I thought that you loved me." He let tears build in his eyes. And his ash blonde hair fall into his face.

The hooded figure let out a sigh. "You know I would never actually kill you. I do love you. I would not have made you an immortal beast if I did not love you. I wished to spend eternity with you after all."

Ivan walked over to his lover. He placed his large hands on his lover's small waist. "Yet, you always keep yourself hidden in that cloak of yours. You wish to spend eternity invisible to me?"

"This cloak is a very powerful piece of clothing. It is what is keeping me from being attacked head on. This hides the essence of my magic. No other sorcerer can track my magic. So, they cannot find me. They cannot find the man they are so desperately looking for." He sounded so very smug as he spoke. And through the cloak he could see the wicked grin of his lover.

"Very well. Remain hidden in that cloak until the time is right. I know you shall be revealing yourself soon."

The man let out a laugh. "I may not need to, Ivan. My love. I have a little pawn moving on the field right now. We shall see what happens when our prince's little problem is revealed to his people."

Gilbert felt pain in his wrists. He could feel pain in his shoulders. The prince could feel pain everywhere. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run from the pain. But as he ran he was getting no farther than he was before he began to run.

All around him was nothing but darkness. He screamed and screamed. But it was silent. He called out for his lover. But he never came. He called out for his brother. The demon called out for anyone at all. But he found himself completely alone.

He could hear yelling all around him. It was quiet at first. The screams were like a whisper. A soft breeze in the wind. But those screams grew louder and louder in sound. He could feel his body being thrashed around as if he were in a hurricane. A hurricane of pain and screams.

Finally, the man opened his bright red eyes. All around him was a sea of people. The men and women wore expressions of fear, disgust and hatred. He tried to run yet again, but he found that he was hanging by a tree. The rope holding him up tied to his wrists.

There was no way to escape whatever was to come. He could not call for his lover to come save him. He could not call forth his magic for he was filled with too much fear.

"Look here ladies and gentlemen. This is our prince. This is the filth that they let protect us. This man born with unnatural colored eyes and skin. We said from the very start that the child born was that of a demon. We said it from the moment he was introduced to us by the prior king. He chose right in having his younger son become king. For now we have proof that we were right all along. Look at his horns. His tail. He even has fangs just like a beast," a masked noble man began to yell to the people.

The masked man open the prince's mouth to show everyone the fangs he spoke of. He tried to bite down, but found a whips to his skin from behind. He let out a scream of extreme pain and surprise.

"I brought this demon here as soon as I learned that what we believed him to be was true. I have brought this demon here to die. We will not let this demon live. We will save this world from the demons. He is the reason the demons walk free in this realm. With him gone we will be free!"

Gilbert began to panic. He did not want to die. Not there. Not like that. He had many more realms to visit. He had more people to save. This could not be the end for him.

But all around him he could only hear cheers. There was not a single protest to keep him alive. There was no one on his side. All they saw before them was a monster. But he was nothing like the demons who killed the people of this realm.

"Let us burn him at the stake!" a man shouted.

"Let us shower him with stones! I have plenty of those to go around!" a women yelled.

"We can drown him in the lake! Make him struggle!" he heard the voice of a child yell.

"Drain him of his demonic blood! I have heard that it can bring humans eternal life!" an older man called out.

His heart began to fill with anger and sorrow. He could not believe that human beings could be so cruel. That they could just attack someone because they looked different than them. He may have turned into a demon because of a curse, but he still had the heart and mind of a human.

"I am not a demon. I do not kill those who do not deserve it. I do not kill the innocent. I kill the creatures of hell that attack all of you!" he shouted. "If anyone is the demon right now it would be all of you. You are acting like demons yourself. Killing someone who has never done you harm. Killing out of pure hatred."

His words only seemed to anger the people even more. They were furious that a beast like him could hang there and call them demons. They were not the one with the features of a beast. They were not creatures from hell sent to destroy them.

The people began throwing whatever they could get their hands on at the demon. Stones and sticks and dirt. The children hit him with sticks like he was a piñata. The demon groaned in pain.

He felt that he would definitely die where he hung. He could not let that happen. His new demon instincts kicked in and he let out a shrill cry. It was a very high pitched sound. Loud enough to make one's ears bleed. Everyone around him rushed to cover their ears.

From miles and miles away his scream could still be heard. Lovino could hear it from inside of his dark home. He knew exactly whom the cries were from. His brother seemed to know as well seeing the wicked grin spread onto his face.

"It seems that your little demon is in trouble, brother," the hooded figure said. Lovino's eyes went wide. How did his brother find out? He had been so careful. "Did you think that I was stupid? I saw how he slammed you into the wall. Into the bed. Do not take me for a fool."

"Feliciano! I did not wish to turn against you!" the eldest yelled.

The younger of the two growled. He grabbed his brother by the collar and let his hood fall. He glared into amber eyes. "Do not lie. You have been lying to me from the very beginning. Now, you have two choices. You can let your lover die and die with him or you fight against him and he gets to live. For now at least."

Lovino grit his teeth. He knew he could most likely defeat his brother, but then he would have to worry about his brother's lover. Ivan was a demon to be reckoned with. It was pure luck that Gilbert had been able to get rid of him temporarily.

He sighed and lowered his head. He knew that he only had one real choice. He vowed to break the Dreamweaver's curse. And he never broke a promise. Not without a fight at the very least. "Have it your way, my brother."

Feliciano smirked widely. "Then let us start the games. Shall we?"

Gilbert soon found himself surrounded by darkness yet again. Only he felt much more at ease now. There was no pain and no screaming. He wondered if this was what death was like.

Was he dead? Had the villagers killed him off? They were probably having a celebration for his death. He frowned at that thought. He could not believe anyone would ever want him dead like that.

That was not the way he wanted to go. He did not imagine his life would end so suddenly. His parents would never even know whether or not he was dead. They would never get to see him again. Not even for a single day. A single hour.

He felt tears stinging at his eyes. That did not make much sense to him. If he were dead how could he feel? How could he cry? He did not know anything about death. But he never thought it would be like this.

Just floating about in the darkness forever. Having no voice, but having millions of undying thoughts. Thousands of emotions coming around to tear at your heart. Never ending sadness and loneliness.

He wanted to scream. Anything would be better than this. Was this hell? Had he been sent to hell for turning into a creature of hell? Surely this was not heaven. Not that he had ever believed in either of those things. But this could only be either hell or purgatory.

Hours went by and he grew bored. Or was it day? Weeks? He had no concept of time wherever he was. But after what felt like forever he could see a faint light in the distance. From the light he could hear very faint voices.

It gave him a small bit of hope. He began to run towards the light. But the more he ran the farther away the light seemed to get. He began to grow frustrated. Was death trying to tease him? Was his mind playing tricks on him?

He ran for what could have been miles. Never did he get any closer to that light. Eventually, he decided to give up. He just stopped running and let himself float around in the darkness.

He closed his eyes to the light. If he were just going to be teased like that then he would ignore it. He was not going to give himself hope that there was anything better than the dark abyss. This was where he belonged.

He did not notice that he was getting closer to that light now. The more relaxed his body became the closer he got. Soon the light was almost blinding. The voices were louder. He felt his heart beat in his chest. There was a familiar voice calling out.

He began to smile. He wanted to run to the light once again. But he stayed patient. He waited for the light to come to him. That is most likely why he could not reach it when he tried the first time.

Soon enough the light reached him. He could feel his cold body grow warmer. It felt as if he were being kissed by the Gods and Goddesses. He felt comforted and loved. He knew that he was finally going to be free. He would no longer have to stay in this never ending darkness. No longer would he be haunted by his thoughts. No longer would he be haunted by his dreams.


	23. Chapter 22

Blades crashed against each other in the bloody battle. The sorcerers that brought the demons to them realm had finally revealed themselves. The two brought a mass army of demons to the battle field. It was the moment that everyone knew was coming.

But they were not prepared. They were not prepared for the sheer numbers of demons that they had brought. They stood on the field and looked at the massive sea of demons. But the demon they needed there the most was gone.

Gilbert had vanished. Where he had gone no one seemed to know. Everyone knew that the nobles had caught him and tried to kill him, but they said he had disappeared into thin air the moment they tried to kill him.

Many feared that it would be the end of their realm. Everyone was to be slaughtered. They knew there was no hope in surviving. But they were not going to go down without a fight. They were warriors. And they lived to fight. They lived to die.

Even the king stood on the battle field. He was the most surprised out of everyone. Him and Elizabeta. For they were not expecting to find Lovino on the side of the enemy. They were both saddened and outraged.

To think that they had been double crossed. It was out right vicious. That sorcerer had tricked his brother and possibly was behind his disappearance. He was probably the reason he had turned into a demon. That is what they wanted to think at the very least.

However, they had trouble believing that Lovino could do such a thing. Why would he train him and make him stronger? Why would he want to make him strong enough to defeat the demons? It made no sense at all.

But their eyes could not lie to them. There the amber eyed man stood with a stern and cold expression. Next to him stood a shorter male with gold eyes and auburn hair. He looked like he could have been an angel, if it were not for the look of pure evil on his face.

The intent to kill was clear as day in those liquid, gold eyes. The bloodlust could be felt from across the field. But he made no move yet. He and his army of demons only stood and watched the warriors.

The small man was like a lion watching its prey. Not wanting it to escape, but waiting for the absolute perfect time to make its move. He and his brother held their hands and they were surrounded with light.

When they were both in their holy robes the warriors stiffened. Lovino's being white with a red sash and Feliciano's being black with a silver sash. They both began to cast their spells.

The warriors got ready for an attack. But they were met with nothing. Instead they found that the two had been surrounded in a dome of light. It was most likely a shield to protect themselves from being attack.

This angered the warriors for they saw that it was not fair. But they were not fighting against warriors. They were fighting against demons and sorcerers. So, they could not expect it to be fair. They could only expect it to be absolutely brutal. All they expected was a massacre.

Feliciano raised his hand into the air and ordered for his demons to attack. He gave Ivan a nod. The demons began to charge at the warriors. Ivan led his high level demons to attack the elite's. They were the only ones worth fighting. The others would be quick to die. So, why even bother?

Elizabeta found herself fighting Ivan head on. He was a very strong demon. She could only assume he was one of the very best. The two of them struck at each other with their swords. Though she wondered why the demon would fight with a sword in the first place.

As she watched the way he moved the sword and looked into his violet eyes she could see why. He saw her as an easy prey. As nothing more than a little human who was no match for his power. Nothing infuriated her more than being thought of as weak.

She growled as she began to hit harder. Her swings getting quicker and swifter. Ivan had been surprised. He knew she was an elite. But as a women he did not think that she could be as much of a threat as the others. He was dead wrong.

She began to attack with incredible power. She began to use evasion to aid her in her attacks. She could dodge and roll away so quickly it was like she was disappearing. Finally she was able to wound the demon.

Peter wanted to jump right in and attack. But he knew it was almost impossible because of the sheer number of demons out on the field. He stuck to his bow and arrow for the time being. Finding a tree on the edge of the field he perched onto a branch. From there he shot his arrows.

The young warrior did not like the thought of being a supporting member. But he knew that it was important for him to do so in this fight. So, when he saw that a demon was getting the upper hand against one of the elites he would let his arrow fly. His aim had greatly involved in the long weeks of battle.

Now, as he pulled the arrow back and steadied his breathing he felt full of control. When he let the arrow fly away to its target he smiled. The demon who was too strong for Wendy to kill soon had an arrow straight into its forehead. It was perfectly centered.

Leopold also took to attacking with his ranged weapon. But he did not want to leave his lovers side. So, he was killing not only the demons near him, but the ones farther away as well. Of course his aim rarely failed.

He had learned each and every point to hit to kill, paralyze and just cause intense pain. Sometimes he wondered just how Marcello knew where every point was and what they did. He wondered how long he had been trained before joining the ranks to train with Gilbert.

Marcello fought just like Gilbert did. Head on without any fear or hesitation. His blade cleared off heads and slit throats. Even as the blood of his enemies began to cover him he did not shudder in disgust. Leopold found that he did not mind the sight of blood on his lover.

"Are you going to fight? Or are you going to continue staring at me?" the eldest warrior asked his feminine lover.

The small albino blushed shyly. "I am sorry. I cannot help but to appreciate beautiful art when I see it. And you are the most beautiful piece of art I have ever seen in my lifetime."

Marcello grinned. He gutted a few demons that stood before him. "I think I have taught you well in the art of flirting. I know I must have. Flirting is my thing after all."

Leopold rolled his eyes softly. Using his spear he flung himself around to kick away the demons that surrounded him. When he got them away he stabbed them all in the guts one by one. "You are quite the flirt. I thought you were going to go after Wendy when he met on the training grounds. But you changed your mind so quickly."

"Well she did have my eyes originally. But when we had that battle against each other I could not help but to be mesmerized by your beauty and grace," Marcello admitted as he cut off the arm of a demon.

Abel huffed as he fought his way over to the two boys. Killing demons left and right he kicked the boys. "I get that you two hard head over heels in love with each other. This, however, is not the time for flirting," the king said with a glare.

The two boys blushed. They knew that the king was right. But when they were together they did not fear getting hurt. They forgot about their lives being in danger. That was probably the most dangerous thing of all. "We are sorry," the mumbled quietly. They immediately threw themselves into battle and silence.

Antonio sliced through the bodies of demons with his mighty axe. He chopped demon after demon in half. Some of them he even sliced into little, tiny pieces. It had been so long since he had fought a good battle. He was loving every second of it. He was filled with blood lust.

Feliciano could smell the blood lust coming off of Antonio in waves. It smelt delicious. The green eyed man could certainly be useful to him. He got excited just thinking of all that he could accomplish with such strength and power on his side.

He could own anything he wanted. He could take over not only this realm, but the other realms that existed in the universe. He had read over his so called brother's little field journal, if that is what one could call it.

The fact that there were other realms beside this one fascinated him. He would definitely take over other realms. But in order to do that he had to conquer this realm first. Then, he would need to gain enough strength and power to travel to the other realms. He could not even imagine how many were out there. But he could imagine all the power he would receive.

He began to start conjuring a spell. Lovino began to wonder what he was doing exactly. They were only supposed to lead the armies to attack and kill. There was no need to use magic for that.

Feliciano began to draw up the magic symbols with the green light magic. The elder brother tried to analyze the spell, but he had not seen it before. He knew it could not be good. But there was nothing he could do. If he wanted to keep his lover safe then he had to fight.

The light was directed towards Antonio as soon as the symbols were finished. His body soon was surround by a blood red aura. He froze mid swing. The demons around him also stood still. They no longer attacked the man.

Antonio did not understand what was happening. He could hear many voices in his mind. All of them telling him to kill. To slaughter. Kill everyone. All people were good for was death. Humans killed each other for pitiful reasons. They found joy in war. Humans did not deserve to live.

They were beast just like the demons were. They may be even worse than the demons. They stole. They raped. They lied. The humans lived a life full of sin. There was no love left in the world. So, he should just destroy it all.

He turned away from the demons. His eyes were now set on the elite warriors like himself. Who should he kill first? Peter and Erland who reeked of pride and lies? Marcello for parading around in lust? Leopold for living in greed. Wendy for living in envy? Or should he kill Abel? The man who broke his heart.

The answer seemed obvious. He did not even think about Elizabeta or Belle. They were the kindest humans there after all. So, his eyes and his sword set out for Abel. Ludwig was the only one to notice the change in Antonio.

He immediately blocked the tanned man from reaching his fellow king. Antonio growled. "Do not get in my way peasant! I will not hesitate to kill you! You have been the reason behind many deaths. Those like you must die."

Ludwig gave the man a hard glare. "I will not die here. I will not let you kill for the side of evil. If I have to kill you I will. Your life will end by my hands."

The two swung their weapons at each other with no hesitation. And in the distance they could hearing the sound of ripping flesh and an ear piercing scream.


	24. Chapter 23

Gilbert woke up and looked around. He felt his heart stop as he saw his own room around him. This is not where he should be. His fight was not yet over. There was a realm to save.

He scrambled out of his bed to his mirror. His hands flew up to his head. The horns were still there. He was still a demon. That meant that he still had his magic powers. Surely he could somehow open a portal to another realm. It had to be possible.

There was only one way to find out. Quickly getting dressed in baggy jeans and a hoodie he made his way out of the house. He thank the gods that his parents were not home to keep him there.

He grabbed his skateboard and phone and headed out. He was thankful that his realm was one with technology. He turned on his GPS so that he could find the library. Unfortunately because he was so sheltered he did not really know where anything was in town. No one knew of him. They only knew of his death.

It took him a long time to find the library. When he entered he immediately asked were books of witchcraft could be found. Of course the librarian gave him a weird look. He did not care though. The only thing that mattered was finding a spell that he could use.

He was not a sorcerer. So, he did not know how well he could pull of casting a spell. But he had to try at the very least. He contained magic deep within him. There was a possibility that the magic he contained would allow him to cast spells just like a sorcerer. He could only hope that his feeling was right. There was a whole entire realm full of people counting on him.

He read as fast as he could. Not taking any breaks. It was a matter of life or death. He had no clue what was happening in the other realm as of right now. His friends . . . his lover . . . they could all be dead by now. The realm could be destroyed for all he knew. But still he did not give up hope.

When he found what he was looking for he tucked the book into his small traveling pouch. He knew that it was wrong to steal, but he had no other choice. He could not perform the spell here. There were too many people in the library. He could not check out the book either because he did not have an identity in the town. Or in the entire realm for that matter.

So, he quickly dashed out of the library. Of course the alarms went off as soon as he ran through the detectors. He did not stopped when he was called after though. He ran and skated off as soon as he got to his bored.

A short distance away he could hear sirens. He growled in aggravation. He knew that most likely the cops would be called since what he did was illegal. But he did not want to have to deal with that. He did not have the time.

Gilbert tried to speed up as he heard the sirens get closer and closer to him. He cursed under his breath. Honestly he should have expected that to happen. But he did not even know that there were alarms on books. He had not seen anything when he had been reading it.

Having been sheltered his whole life he did not know much about his own realm. It was a stupid idea to go out and steal. But it was highly necessary in order for him to open up a portal to another realm. If he even had the power to do so.

It did not take long for the cop car to catch up to him. He was forced to stop so that he did not run into the car. The police officers got out of the vehicle. "Put your hands into the air and freeze. You are under arrest for theft of public property!" one of the men yelled.

Gilbert groaned and did as the officers said. But he would be dammed if he was going to be kept imprisoned. He thought of just flying away, but he quickly tossed that idea aside. The sound of sirens has attracted many witnesses. He did not need the people of this realm to see a real live demon such as himself. They were not supposed to actually exist where he was from.

The officers took his bag and grabbed his hands. They cuffed his arms behind his back. It was highly uncomfortable. He could hear the mumbles of the neighborhood as he was taken away. But none of the words said could hurt him. He had no ties to the realm. Even his parents could be left behind. For they left him behind long ago.

When he was forced into the back of the cop car he took a deep breath. The officers were going over his rights with him. But he did not care to actually listen to the men. If he really wanted to he could have killed them already. But just because he had the appearance and power of a demon did not mean he was going to act like one.

As they made their way to the station he thought about what he needed to do. He needed to escape from the cell they would no doubt put him in. Also, he would have to get back the book. With any luck he could just perform the spell within the jail. If not then he would have to find his way back home.

The station was not far away at all. When they arrived he was guided to the station where he was put into a cell for holding. Thankfully he had no identification on him. They of course inked his finger prints. But they would not find any records. If they did then it would be for a man believed to be dead. He sat on the bed in the small cell. Smirking he watched the officers go about their job. No matter what had to happen . . . he would get back to where he needed to be.

He laid down and fixed his hoodie. He was thankful that the hood had not been taken off his head or anything. The last thing he needed was for one of the officers to freak out. He did not need any bullets in his skull. Though he wondered if the bullets would even make it to him or not. He could easily cast a shield around himself. The magic may even react to danger on its own. He did not really know how it all worked yet. He never got complete control over his powers before he had been taken by the nobles.

While he waited for night to fall he practiced using his powers. The more he tried the easier it became for him. But he still found himself getting aggravated when the bigger spells did not work right away for him.

If he could not do any of his major spells then how was he supposed to create a portal? It was starting to look impossible in his eyes. But he knew that he could not give up. That was not an option. He felt tears build in his eyes.

He could not lose. The people living in that realm did not deserve to be slaughtered by those demons. Sure there were some vicious human beings living there, but that did not mean they deserved such cruel deaths. Even if they did try to murder him.

He did not want the children he trained to die before they could become warriors even greater than him. He did not want Ludwig to die before having the chance to experience just how fun life can actually be. How amazing being in love was. He did not want Antonio to die with nothing to claim as his own. Abel and Antonio still had yet to reconcile.

He did not want his lover to die. The man was too sweet. He gave it his all to make him stronger. Always giving the albino the encouragement he needed to keep trying. To not give up on using his powers. He did not want to lose the one person he had come to love. The one person in the universe who had ever given him love. Of course he did not want to lose that.

So, when the stars reached their places in the night sky he got up off of the small bed. He crept silently to break out of the holding cell. He had to thank his demon strength for allowing him to bend the bars. Letting him slip right in-between them.

He knew there were still a couple of guards roaming around. What he was doing was highly dangerous. But he had no choice. He snuck down the halls and peeked around corners. Luckily he had not run into anyone. It took a long while but he finally found the evidence room.

The door was locked. That was no problem for Gilbert though. He broke the door open with very little trouble. This time when he heard an alarm go off he was prepared. He quickly used his magic to stop time. It would not last very long. But it would give him the time he needed.

Quickly he entered the room and began searching through boxes. Box after box he did not find what he was looking for. He groaned and knocked a stack of boxes off the table. They scattered across the room. As one from the bottom of the pile toppled over he heard a loud thud.

He grinned when the object he heard fall out of the box was indeed the book he had stolen. He picked it up along with his phone and quickly ran out of the room. His vision began to get blurry and he knew his spell was about to wear off. So, he began to take flight so that he could gain more speed.

The speed however was not enough since he was not exactly used to flying. As the spell wore off he was being chased by guards. As soon as they saw that he was obviously not human they did not hesitate to draw out their guns and start shooting at him.

He dodge the bullets as best as he could. But he still felt a couple graze him. He found an empty room and flew inside. Locking the door behind him. He blocked it with a desk.

The officers continued to try and bust the door open. Some of them even shooting into the room. Gilbert tried to ignore it all. They would get in eventually. He was running out of time.

He opened the spell book he had stolen and began to flip through the pages. He skimmed over the words in search of the spell he had found earlier at the library. After what seemed like years, but in reality was only a few minutes, he finally found the passage.

He used his light magic to draw out the magical symbols shown in the book as instructed. It was similar to how he had seen Lovino perform his own magic. Only his was different in color. When he finished drawing all of the symbols he began to read over the words in the passage. Just praying that the spell would work.

"Tempus meminisse. Tempus retrocedit. In tempus cursus semper. Dicitur hic et ibi. Tempus et spatium, in omni loco. Sicut ab uno loco ad alium. Ego expulsurus magica. . A simplex furta. Find me aliud tempus differenda. Et faciam voluntatem meam."

As he finished speaking the words for the spell the room began to fill with a bright white light. It was almost blinding. He saw the light before him was the portal. He had succeeded! Immediately he ran through the portal. But when he arrived onto the battlefield he was ready to fall to his knees. For he was not ready for what he had walked into.


	25. Chapter 24

All he could hear was the blood curdling scream of the warrior standing just ahead of him. He saw the guts being pulled out of her now ripped open abdominal. The blood pouring out of her body.

He watched as the demon he had thought he killed reached down and ripped out the women's heart. Violet eyes met red. Taking the heart to his mouth he bit into it. Gilbert felt like he was going to pass out or throw up. But he also felt the need to kill the demon all over again. But he would make sure it was permanent. He would not let Elizabeta's death be for nothing.

He could see that Elizabeta was not the only one who had met death. There were many bodies littered across the field. And many were still fighting. But there were two things that surprised him even more than seeing the purpled eyed demon again. That surprised him more than seeing the death of such a brave female warrior.

He could see Antonio fighting against Ludwig. The two of them were going all out. Antonio was prepared to kill and Gilbert knew that. But he knew that Antonio was obviously not in control. He could detect the magic.

The other surprise he was met with were the amber eyes on the other side of the field. The side that held the enemies. When those eyes met his he saw the man was startled. His eyes went wide in shock. In guilt and in fear. It was obvious that his lover had not expected him to show up.

Though Gilbert wanted nothing more than to confront his lover, he knew that it was not the time. The first thing he needed to do was get Antonio under control. Then, he would have to kill the violet eyed demon. His questions to Lovino could wait until later.

Feliciano glared when he saw the albino demon appear. He was not supposed to show up. He had sent him away for a reason. "Did you bring him hear?!" he shouted to the amber eyed man.

Lovino shook his head. "No! I am just as surprised as you are. I have no idea how he got here. There is no way he got here through his dreams."

Feliciano growled. He sent more waves of magic over to Antonio. The magic increasing the man's strength. "I will not lose this war," he growled out.

When Antonio absorbed the magic his power increased tenfold. Ludwig began to have some difficulty in blocking the man's attacks. His speed had even increased as well. And the king was not at all prepared for the attacks to be coming from his own army.

Gilbert flew over to the blonde's side. Blue eyes met red immediately. "I was wondering when you would decide to show up!" the king shouted. Dodging another attack by the tan man.

The prince grinned. "Well you know me. I like to make a dramatic entrance. But. ." he paused. His smile turning into a frown. "I should not have left you all waiting so long. Unfortunately I had no choice. I am sorry that I could not get here in time to save her."

Ludwig frowned as well. Swinging his own weapon to attack Antonio. Of course he missed due to the man's new speed. "It is not your fault. All we can do now is avenge her death."

Gilbert's eyes hardened. "You are right. And I will make sure that demon pays for what he has done. I may not have been able to save Elizabeta. But I will be sure to save you."

As he spoke he took over the battle with Antonio. He was hoping that maybe since he was his best friend he could snap him out of it. It was worth a shot even if it turned out to be useless.

Antonio stopped mid attack. He looked Gilbert up and down. Slowly a smirk grew on his face. "Well, well . . . what do we have here? The demon prince has finally decided to fight? Have you figured out all of powers yet? Or shall this be an easy kill for me?"

Red eyes widened slightly. He was definitely not expecting that attitude. The green eyed man was far too cheerful to act like that. "Antonio, please snap out of it. You know that you do not wish to kill me."

The former prince laughed maniacally. He began to swing his axe with killing intent. He was specifically aiming to slice off the demons head. "You are very wrong my dear old friend. Very wrong indeed. I want nothing more than for your head to be impaled on a stick for all the world to see."

Gilbert could not believe the magical hold that was on his friend. He was a completely different person. He was crazed. It could be seen in his eyes. It could be sensed from miles away. The man wanted nothing more than to destroy the world and all of its filthy creatures.

The white haired demon tried to talk some sense into Antonio. But it seemed that nothing was working. It was getting harder and harder with every minuet to defend himself against the man. And soon he found that the axe was cutting at him. Blood poured from the cuts that covered his body.

Gilbert was getting fed up with getting hurt. He did not want to be in pain. However, it was a necessary sacrifice. For in his mind he was too busy analyzing his magic to actually concentrate on fighting his friend. He was looking within himself for a magic to soothe his friend.

When he found it he was over joyed. Immediately he cast a shield much like Feliciano and Lovino's. He began to call upon his powers of light magic. Sending out pools of light to surround the man. The light captured him in its grasp and did not let him escape. No matter how hard he struggled.

He was forced to drown inside of the light. But the light cast aside the darkness that had filled his heart. He was purified from the inside out.

This of course pissed the gold eyed sorcerer off. He howled loudly. Breaking away from his shield he marched his way over to Gilbert. He broke the demon's shield with a screech and grabbed him by his throat. "You dare to interfere with my war?! You do not belong here and none of what happens in this realm is any of your concern, Dreamweaver."

Said man let out a sigh as he looked into the gold eyes. "So I see that you have found me out. But that does not change a thing. This realm is my business. It has been from the moment I was sent here. It is my job to save the realms in which I enter. I save the lives of those I am destined to save."

His entire body began to glow with light as he closed his eyes. He let his body take in all the magic that he felt flowing into him. The light cast out from him in blades of light. Stretching out upon the field. One after another all of the demons on the field began to die. Save for Ivan. Feliciano let out a scream as his hands began to burn. The flow of power was so intense it made the albino's skin hot to the touch.

When he opened his eyes he saw that Arthur, Lukas and Vlad were the ones who had gave him some more power. They had left their prior duty of protecting the slums and villages to give him the strength he needed. He could not be more grateful for that. But as soon as they appeared they disappeared just as quickly. For if they wanted to keep the citizens of the kingdom alive then they had to keep the protective barriers up.

"How about we have ourselves a battle? Just you and me?" Gilbert asked the gold eyed man.

Feliciano smirked. "As much as I would love to I have a much more interesting proposal. How about you and your so called lover battle instead. It would be very interesting. Would it not?"

Lovino's eyes went wide. He did not want that. That is not at all what he had agreed to. It certainly was not what he had in mind. He looked over to Gilbert only to find the man smirking. "You are right. That is interesting. I would definitely wish to fight the man who betrayed me. My so called lover," the prince said. His tone full of venom. His words were like poison.

"Gilbert! Please! It is not like that! You have to believe me!" the amber eyed sorcerer shouted. His eyes filled with sadness.

"Save it, you traitor!" Gilbert growled out. He called upon his power and sent his white fog rolling out. He was furiously that he was betrayed. He vowed he would kill those responsible of trying to end this world. Even if the man was his lover.

Lovino threw up a shield to protect himself. But he found that the strong was not powerful enough to keep the fog out. He was engulfed by it immediately. The hell was certainly from hell. For as soon as it touched him he was on his knees in pain. And as soon as he fell to the ground he found that he could not move at all.

Gilbert smirked as he walked over to the sorcerer. With the death of his lover out of the way he could move on to kill the other sorcerer and his demon companion. Then, the war would be over. The realm would be saved and he would have succeeded in protecting the world from destruction.

The closer that the prince got, the more pain and fear Lovino felt. He did not want to die. It was all a misunderstanding. He had to make him see that. He loved him with all his heart. And it hurt that the man did not even try to get any answers from him.

But he would make the man listen. He would not just die without at least trying to explain the situation to his lover. He had vowed to break his curse after all. Surely he could not do that if he met his death. "Gilbert!" he gasped out through the pain. "You have to listen."

The demon stood before him. Rage was clear in his eyes. "Listen to you?! Why should I listen to a traitor like you?!" he exclaimed.

Lovino coughed and whimpered in pain. "You do not understand. This was all for your own good."

"My own good?! How was this all for my own good?! Please explain that to me before I rip your head off!"

"I wanted you to live. So, I joined his side to save your life. In exchange for you to be forced from this realm, I offered Feliciano my power. I did not want to lose the man I have been in love with for years!" Tears began to stream out of the amber eyes.

"You have only known me for a short time! How could you have loved me for years?! You liar!"

"Because I am like you! I also am a Dreamweaver!" Lovino confessed.

Gilbert's hands fell to his side. It felt like the whole world stopped. He could not believe it. He really could not. But it explained quite a lot actually. He wiped away the fog from the man when he got his senses back. "You are like me? I am not alone?" he asked.

Lovino looked up at the man through tear filled eyes. "Gilbert, my love. You have never been alone. I have always been in the shadows. Protecting you while keeping myself unknown. I have spent all of my recent years watching over you. For I could see that you were going to be someone great. And I was not wrong."

Long and slow claps began to proceed in the distance. The two turned over to find the source. There stood Feliciano clapping with a smirked plastered onto his face. "How lovely. The two have made up. It is too bad that the two of you will have to die now."

He lifted his hands and cast out a large blast of light to the two lovers and the remaining warriors on the field. But the reach did not even have the time to make it. For Gilbert's blade quickly found its way to the small man's throat. And said man's head soon found its way to the ground. Ivan turned to dust as soon as the body hit the ground. And the realm was finally safe.


	26. Epilogue

All of the remaining warriors gathered in the castle to celebrate their victory. The demons had not been able to invade and they would never find a way to enter the realm ever again. At least not for a very, very long time.

Many of the warriors gave Gilbert their thanks. They knew that the end of the war was mostly due to him. He had been determined to win from the very beginning and he kept his vow to the kingdom. He would be known as the legendary hero for many years to come. And the legend would go on even when he disappeared.

Speaking of which Ludwig, Abel, Antonio and the children all walked over to congratulate and thank the demon. All of them wore happy, yet saddened expression. He knew the exact reason why.

"It seems that you will be leaving us, Dreamweaver," Ludwig said. His expression being the saddest out of all of them. For his whole life had been a bunch of lies.

"I will be leaving. But I do not believe it will be forever. I am sorry that I am not actually your brother. But do know that I have come to love you just as a brother would. And I wish the best for you and your lover," he spoke with a small smile.

"I just cannot believe it. I do not wish to lose the only friend I have. I will be so lonely without you and Francis," Antonio was the next to speak.

"There is no need to be lonely. I will not be gone forever. I did recently learn how to teleport through portals after all. But while I am away you and Abel should reconcile. It is not worth the pain to be angry forever. You never know when you will disappear."

"I would like to do that very much," Abel said quietly. A small blush on his face. "I have truly missed you." Antonio blushed as well. The two began to talk about the issue and were soon lost in each other.

The kids did not say much to him. They had thanked him for his help to make them great warriors and made him promise to come back and visit whenever he found the chance. And for once he felt like that was a promise that he could keep.

Gilbert laid in bed later that night with his lover. Each of them knowing that their time in the realm was done. They would soon find themselves on another adventure. Together they would save anyone who needed saving. They would keep the world from falling apart. So, with a kiss goodnight the two fell asleep. And their bodies disappeared into the night. Off in search of another realm to save. They dreamt of the realm where they would meet once again.


End file.
